Eoin McKiernan and Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler Papers
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Abstract
Eoin McKiernan (1915-2004) was a scholar of Irish Studies in the United States (US) and the co-founder in 1962 of the Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI) in St. Paul, Minnesota. He led the effort to revive and preserve Irish culture and language in the US. The Eoin McKiernan and Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler Papers date between 1917 and 2014, with the bulk of the materials dating between 1947 and 2010. The collection consists of McKiernan's personal papers, records of the IACI, and material documenting Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler's work on her biography of her father, Irish America Reawakening: The Eoin McKiernan Story. Materials include McKiernan's personal correspondence, writings, and production material for Irish Diary, a public television series he wrote and hosted in the 1960s; business records from his involvement in the IACI; and the Irish America Reawakening material, which includes Hetzler's correspondence, research materials, legal documents regarding her Freedom of Information Act requests, and galleys of the book.
Biographical Note
Eoin McKiernan (1915-2004) was an Irish Studies scholar, teacher, and founder of the Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI). He was born John Thomas McKiernan, but adopted the old Irish form of his name early in life. He was a professor of English at the State University of New York at Geneseo (1949-1959) and at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota (1959-1972). He retired from education in 1972 to dedicate himself full time the IACI. He dedicated his career to reviving and preserving Irish culture and language in the United States.
Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler was born in 1940 and is a member of the national board of the IACI and has served as the chair of the Rochester, New York Chapter of the IACI. She was a Campus Minister at St. John Fisher College in Rochester.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series: Series I. Eoin McKiernan Papers, Series II. Irish American Cultural Institute Records, and Series III. Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler Research Materials. Each series is arranged in alphabetical order by format, name of person or organization, or title of work.
Scope and Contents
The Eoin McKiernan and Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler Papers date between 1917 and 2014, with the bulk of the materials dating between 1947 and 2010. The collection consists of McKiernan's personal papers, his records of involvement with the Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI), and material documenting Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler's work on a biography of her father, Irish America Reawakening: The Eoin McKiernan Story. McKiernan's personal papers date from 1917 to 2006, with the bulk between 1947 and 2000, and include personal correspondence; drafts and published versions of his writings; his research files; scrapbooks; and scripts, notes, photographs, slides, and recordings of Irish Diary, a public television series he hosted in the 1960s. Roughly half of McKiernan's correspondence is in Irish, with other material in Irish throughout the collection. Material from his IACI involvement dates between 1964 and 2005 and includes correspondence, reports, minutes, memoranda, and issues of Dúċas, the organization's bi-monthly publication. The Hetzler material dates from 1953 to 2014, with the bulk dating between 2005 and 2010, and includes correspondence, research materials, legal documents regarding her Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and galleys for Irish America Reawakening.
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Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Researchers interested in using audiovisual materials in this collection (films, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, et cetera) 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 Access
Open to users without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright to materials in this collection created by Eoin McKiernan and Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler are held by Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler. Permission to publish or reproduce materials to which she holds copyright must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Eoin McKiernan and Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler Papers; AIA 081; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The majority of the collection was donated by Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler in April 2016, with additional accessions in July 2016 and June 2018. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 2016.040, 2016.041, 2018.107, and 2018.120.
Custodial History
The collection was packed by Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler. The majority of the collection was donated by Hetzler in April 2016, with an additional accession in July 2016.
Appraisal
The majority of Eoin McKiernan's research files consisted of clippings from newspapers and magazines and were removed.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Material created by Eoin McKiernan that was not related to his work at the Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI) was identified and brought together physically to form Series I. Material that was created through McKiernan's work at the IACI and was identified and brought together physically to form Series II. Material used and created by Deirdre McKiernan Hetzler in the course of her research for Irish America Reawakening: The Eoin McKiernan Story was identified and brought together physically to form Series III. Hetzler made notes regarding material in Series I and Series II during her research and kept these notes with the original material. These notes were separated and combined together into Series III.
Duplicate materials were removed. Paper materials were housed in archival folders and boxes. Audiovisual material without housing was housed; all audiovisual material was placed in an archival box and labeled with unique identifiers. One CD-R was forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit.
