Archives of Irish America Collection on the McNulty Family
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Abstract
The Archives of Irish America Collection on the McNulty Family chronicles the career of the Irish American performers known as the McNulty Family. The McNulty Family were known as the "Royal Family of Irish Entertainers" and were popular in the United States, Canada, and Ireland between the 1930s and 1950s. Ann "Ma" McNulty led the trio and played accordion and melodeon; her daughter Eileen sang and danced; and her son Peter played violin and piano, sang, and danced. They also performed skits and comedy routines that sometimes accompanied their songs. The collection dates between 1907 and 2011, with the bulk of the materials from 1928 to 1955. Materials include subject files, scrapbooks created by Ann, newspaper clippings, sound recordings, sheet music, lyric books, correspondence, financial records, contracts, photographs, programs, posters, pins, Eileen McNulty's top hat, and Peter McNulty's shillelagh.
Biographical Note
The McNulty Family were known as the "Royal Family of Irish Entertainers" and were popular in the United States, Canada, and Ireland between the 1930s and 1950s. Ann "Ma" McNulty led the trio and played accordion and melodeon; her daughter Eileen sang and danced; and her son Peter played violin and piano, sang, and danced. They also performed skits and comedy routines that sometimes accompanied their songs.
Ann was born Ann Burke in Kilteevan, County Roscommon, Ireland in 1887. She immigrated to the United States in 1910 and met John McNulty, who had emigrated from Drumkeeran, County Leitrim, in 1911. They were married in 1914 and lived in Attleboro, Massachusetts. They moved to New York State after Eileen was born in 1915. Peter was born in 1917. The family moved to New York City in 1923. Ann, Eileen, and Peter began performing as the McNulty Family in 1926 in New York City, but after John's death in 1928, the family began performing in larger venues, on radio, and in different cities on the East Coast. The McNulty Family created the Irish Showboat Revue, which included songs and skits, and eventually grew to include 19 performers. They appeared on many radio shows from the 1920s to the 1950s and had two weekly radio shows of their own on the local New York City station WWRL in the 1940s. Peter wrote a weekly newspaper column, The News Nest, for The Advocate between 1939 and 1942. Ann continued the column after Peter was drafted into the Army in 1942, but for less than a year. The column highlighted the social lives of the McNulty Family and other Irish American performers.
The McNulty Family continued to perform once Peter returned from active military duty in 1946, but due to his ill health they could not maintain the same schedule they had before the war. After Peter's death in 1960, Eileen and Ann continued to perform, sometimes with Eileen's son James. After her husband's death in 1968 and Ann's death in 1970, Eileen went to Ireland for training in Irish dancing and received her TCRG (Irish dance teacher certification). She returned to the US and taught Irish step dancing from 1972 to the mid-1980s. She died in 1989.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in alphabetical order by format or topic. Some items within this arrangement were arranged in chronological order by one of the donors.
Scope and Content Note
The Archives of Irish America Collection on the McNulty Family chronicles the career of the Irish American performers known as the McNulty Family. The collection dates between 1907 and 2011, with the bulk from 1928 to 1955. The collection documents the McNulty Family's successful career as both stage performers and recording artists and consists of scrapbooks, posters, photographs, sound recordings, sheet music, lyric books, subject files, a top hat worn by Eileen McNulty and a shillelagh used by Peter McNulty in their performances, and two Blue Star Mothers pins worn by Ann during World War II. These items were assiduously collected by Ann "Ma" McNulty and document performances and other activities of her family between 1928 and 1960. The scrapbooks created by Ann contain photographs of family members, performances, and other performers with whom the McNultys appeared; flyers and advertisements for performances; clippings of The News Nest, a column written by Peter in The Advocate from 1939 to 1942 and by Ann from 1942 to 1943; and other items of interest to Ann. The posters and photographs document over 20 years of performances by the McNulty Family, including their Irish Showboat Revue and its 16 years of performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. The sheet music, lyric books, and sound recordings represent the wide range of songs performed by the McNultys. The sound recordings consist of commercial recordings and test pressings on multiple formats, including 78 RPM records; 8", 10", and 12" acetate records; 12" LPs; 7" 45 RPM records; 7" reel audio tape; audio cassettes; and MP3s. The sheet music includes both handwritten and printed arrangements, some of which were original compositions by the McNultys. The lyric books include handwritten and typed songs performed by the McNultys. The subject files contain programs and handbills documenting over 35 years of performances across New York City, New Jersey, and New England; newspaper clippings; letters to Ann and Eileen from friends and family members; Ann's naturalization documents; Peter's military records; recording contracts; royalty statements; and family trees.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Researchers interested in using audiovisual materials in this collection, with the exception of the sound recordings on disc, must use a digitized copy, which we refer to as an access copy. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room; materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. These requests are free of charge and can be made in anticipation of your visit. The process typically takes four to six weeks. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A librarian will respond to you with further information.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Patricia Ann Grogan and James Peter Grogan were transferred to New York University in 2010. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Archives of Irish America Collection on the McNulty Family; AIA 051; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Patricia Ann Grogan and Peter James Grogan in 2010, and Monty Barfoot in 2011. The accession number associated with this gift is 2010.022.
Custodial History
The Archives of Irish America Collection on the McNulty Family was assembled by Patricia Ann Grogan and James Peter Grogan from materials collected by Ann McNulty, Eileen McNulty, and Peter McNulty and donated to the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives in 2010. Sound recordings donated by Monty Barfoot in 2011 were added to the collection by Tamiment Library staff.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes. The order imposed on the collection by the donors was maintained.
