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Archives of Irish America Collection of Irish Institute of New York

Call Number

AIA.020

Date

1950-2018, inclusive

Creator

Irish Institute of New York
Morrissey, Kevin
United Irish Foundation

Extent

7.8 Linear Feet in 4 record cartons, 6 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize flat box, and 1 oversize folder
37.2 Megabytes in 24 images

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

The Irish Institute of New York, originally known as the American Irish Feis Institute, is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural and philanthropic endeavors since 1950. The collection consists of meeting minutes, correspondence, annual dinner programs and speeches, brochures, financial reports, and committee information.

Historical Note

The Irish Institute of New York was founded in 1950 as the American Irish Feis Institute by County Mayo native Paul O'Dwyer. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural and philanthropic endeavors. The Institute's building on West 48th Street served as the headquarters for scores of Irish organizations between 1952 and 1982. Since 1960 the Institute has distributed more than one million dollars to non-profit organizations in both the United States (US) and Ireland.

The American Irish Feis Institute was created in 1950 to establish a center for Irish activities in New York. The founders included Paul O'Dwyer, Sean Keating, Joseph F. McLoughlin, James FitzPatrick, Patrick Corley, Michael Mullvaney, William B. Burke, John Niblo, Dorothy Hayden Cudahy, and other prominent members of the New York Irish community. Their goal was to promote Irish culture and provide financial support for fledgling projects both in the US and Ireland. The organization officially changed its name to the Irish Institute of New York, Inc. three years later. In 1952, under the leadership of its board chairman, Paul O'Dwyer, the Institute purchased a building at 326 West 48th Street in New York City to serve as their Irish center. For almost thirty years, this building was headquarters to hundreds of Irish American organizations who paid little or no rent.

During its early years, the Institute was plagued with financial worries. The Institute tried a variety of fundraising schemes, including charter tours to Ireland and an annual fundraising dinner, the latter which proved most successful. With the political connections of Mayor William O'Dwyer and other public officials, the Institute was able to feature such figures as Congressman Charles Buckley (D-NY), and Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) as honored guests at the annual dinner. By 1960, the Institute had paid off its mortgage and began to establish its grant fund. The first grant was awarded that year to the Irish Arts Council in Dublin in the amount of $5,000. In 1966, the Institute contributed $150,000 to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Arboretum in Wexford as a memorial to the late president and an attempt to aid Ireland's reforestation project.

The Institute was forced to sell the original building at West 48th Street in 1982 due to rising costs and a decreasing New York Irish population. A result of this sale, however, was an increase the Institute's grant awards. Grants in excess of $100,000 were made to the Irish American Cultural Institute for scholarship purposes and to the New York Irish History Roundtable to commission the publication, The New York Irish, edited by Ronald H. Bayor and Timothy Meagher, a collection of scholarly essays published in 1996.

Since 1990 the Irish Institute has supported the work of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and its predecessor, the Irish Immigration Reform Movement (with grants totaling more than $75,000), as well as Glucksman Ireland House at New York University, the Pat Finucane Centre in Derry and the Conway Mill Project in West Belfast.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into five series as follows:

Series I. American Irish Feis Institute, 1950-1959 Series II. General and Administrative Files, 1950-2018 Series III. Financial Records, 1953-1997 Series IV. Audio Materials, 1960 Series V. United Irish Foundation Records, 1982-2004

The original order of the material was maintained. Material in the 2016 accretion in Series II and V has not been arranged by an archivist and is arranged in the order in which it was received from the donor. Material in the 2018 accretion was added to Series II in boxes 7-11.

Scope and Contents

The collection documents the work of the Irish Institute of New York and its charitable programs. Material includes meeting minutes, correspondence, annual dinner programs and speeches, brochures, financial reports, committee information, digital and print photographs, grant applications, and reports on programs funded through the Institute.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to users without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Dorothy Hayden Cudahy were transferred to New York University in 1966 by Dorothy Hayden Cudahy. Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by John Garvey were transferred to New York University in 2005 by John Garvey. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library.

The Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives has no information about copyright ownership for material donated by Kevin Morrissey, James A. Lombard, and James Cuggy, and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in 1960-2017, are expected to enter the public domain in 2080.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Archives of Irish America Collection of Irish Institute of New York; AIA 020; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu two business days prior to research visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accretions were donated by Kevin Morrisey in August 2016, and James A. Lombard and James Cuggy in 2018. Accession numbers associated with these gifts are 2016.070 and 2018.094.

Custodial History

The material in this collection consists of accessions from two officers of the Irish Institute. Material on the Institute's early years was acquired as part of the Dorothy Hayden Cudahy Collection and separated in 1996. Cudahy was the first secretary of the Irish Institute and a life-long friend of founder Paul O'Dwyer. In 2001 Kevin Morrissey donated materials covering the years 1966-1982 which had been turned over to him when he was elected President of the Irish Institute. In 2005, John Garvey donated four reel-to-reel audio tapes from the Annual Dinner of the Irish Institute of New York, 12 March 1960. The 2016 accretion was picked up from Kevin Morrissey by Marion Casey in August 2016 and transferred to the Tamiment Library in November 2016.

The accession numbers associated with this collection are 1997.048 and 2016.070.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted.

Born-digital materials have not been transferred and may not be available to researchers. Researchers may request access copies. To request that material be transferred, or if you are unsure if material has been transferred, please contact [repository contact information] with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact [repository contact information] with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Collection processed by

Rebecca Altermatt, Meaghan Dwyer, Brendan Dolan

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:28:31 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English.

Processing Information

Material in the 2018 accretion has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor. Materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes, and the original folder titles were transcribed.

Revisions to this Guide

December 2016: Updated to include materials integrated from accession number 2016.070 by Megan O'Shea
July 2018: Updated by Megan O'Shea to include material from accession number 2018.094 in boxes 7-11

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012