Dorothy Hayden Cudahy Papers
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Abstract
Dorothy Hayden Cudahy (1922-2010) was an Irish-American woman active in Irish-American social organizations in New York City and host of the Irish Memories radio program from 1943 to 1990. She married John Cudahy (1920-1994) in 1947 and they had one son, Sean (1950-1997). Dorothy was one of the first female parking enforcement officers for the New York City Department of Traffic and retired as the Chief of Administration of the Bureau of Enforcement of the NYC Transportation Department in 1982. She was the first woman elected president of the Kilkenny Association in 1984 and the first woman Grand Marshall of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1989. The Dorothy Hayden Cudahy Papers document the life and work of Dorothy Hayden Cudahy, dating from 1918 to 2010, with the bulk of material dating between the 1940s and the 1990s. Materials include audio recordings, correspondence, print and born-digital photographs, financial documents, writings and speeches, ephemera, clothing, and newspaper clippings. These materials document Dorothy and John's professional and social accomplishments, in particular Dorothy's campaigns for and election as the first female St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshall in 1989, and Dorothy's over 50 years as host of the Irish Memories radio program.
Biographical Note
Dorothy Hayden Cudahy (1922-2010) was an Irish-American woman active in Irish-American social organizations in New York City and host of Irish Memories radio program from 1943 to 1990. She married John Cudahy (1920-1994) in 1947 and had one son, Sean (1950-1997). Dorothy was a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, and worked as one of the first female parking enforcement officers for the New York City Department of Traffic and retired as the Chief of Administration of the Bureau of Enforcement of the NYC Transportation Department in 1982. She was the first woman elected president of the Kilkenny Association in 1984, the first woman Grand Marshall of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1989, and a founding member of the Irish Institute of New York.
Arrangement
Collection is organized into six series, one of which has been arranged in two sub-series. Material in each series is arranged alphabetically with the exception of materials in Series V, which have not been arranged by an archivist. The series are as follows:
Series I. Dorothy Hayden Cudahy Files, 1936-2010
Sub-series I.A. Personal Material, 1936-2010
Sub-series I. B. Irish Memories Material, 1943-2000
Series II. John J. Cudahy Files, 1925-1994
Series III. Photographs, 1918-2009
Series IV. Ephemera, 1937-2006
Series V. Commercial Recordings, 1916-1992
Series VI. Irish Memories Radio Program Recordings, 1944-1997
Scope and Contents
The Dorothy Hayden Cudahy Papers document the life and work of Dorothy Hayden Cudahy, dating from 1918 to 2010, with the bulk of material dating between the 1940s and the 1990s. Materials include audio recordings, correspondence, print and born-digital photographs, writings and speeches, ephemera, clothing, and newspaper clippings. These materials document Dorothy's professional and social accomplishments, in particular Dorothy's campaigns for and election as the first female St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshall in 1989, her participation in Irish-American social organizations in New York City, and Dorothy's over 40 years as host of the Irish Memories radio program. The audio recordings consist of approximately 2000 commercial audio recordings of Irish and Irish-American music, and recordings of Irish Memories from James Hayden's tenure as host as well as Dorothy's tenure. The commercial audio recordings consist of 33 rpm, 45 rpm, 78 rpm grooved discs; printed inventories are available for the 33 rpm and 78 rpm recordings. The recordings of the radio program consist of Fidelipac recordings, audiocassettes, and CDs, all of which have been transferred to access copies. Other material documenting the weekly Irish Memories radio program includes playlists, administrative documents, and notes for interviews. The correspondence consists of letters written to Dorothy regarding her candidacy for Grand Marshal of the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade in the 1980s, letters written by family and friends to Dorothy and John regarding personal topics, correspondence between John and others during his military service in World War II, and correspondence regarding the Irish Memories stage revue. The newspaper clippings document Dorothy's election as the first female Grand Marshal of the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade in 1989, the Irish Memories stage revue and radio program, and John Cudahy's and James Hayden's articles written for Irish-American newspapers.
The print photographs document Dorothy's participation in social and political events in New York City, including meeting city government officials, being honored by the New York City and State governments, multiple New York City and other cities's St. Patrick's Day parades, Irish-American social organization events, and informal gatherings of family and friends. There are photographs of Irish and Irish-American musicians collected by James Hayden and photographs of Dorothy Hayden's Irish Steppers. There are five photograph collages, possibly created for Dorothy's wake or funeral, depicting mainly social events with some photographs from her early life and Dorothy with her husband, son, and her son's family. The born-digital photographs consist of images of plaques commemorating the work and accomplishments of Dorothy and John. Ephemera in the collection consists of plaques, booklets, postcards, holiday cards, sashes, a football, and event decorations. The plaques commemorate the work and accomplishments of Dorothy and John. The booklets document annual meetings and dinners for the Ancient Order of the Hibernians and the County Clare Patriotic and Benevolent Society Association. The sashes read "Free Joe Doherty" and were worn at St. Patrick's Day parades by Dorothy and others to bring attention to the case of Joe Doherty, a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who fought against extradition to Northern Ireland after being arrested and held in jail in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s. The bulk of the writings and speeches consist of handwritten speeches given by Dorothy at various political and social events, in particular St. Patrick's Day parades and at Ancient Order of Hibernians committee meetings for planning the parades. Other writings include drafts of newspaper articles written by John in the 1940s regarding soccer matches. The clothing consists of the dress, coat, hat, and boots that Dorothy wore as Grand Marshal at the 1989 New York City St. Patrick's Day parade.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
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 1996 by Dorothy Hayden Cudahy. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. Please contact Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Dorothy Hayden Cudahy and John J. Cudahy Family Papers; AIA 001; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Dorothy Hayden Cudahy, 1996; an additional accretion was donated in 2012. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 1997.019 and 2012.027.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Some 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 Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information. Access CDs for some audiovisual materials in the collection are available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Separated Materials
Records separated from the Dorothy Hayden Cudahy Papers are included in the Gaelic Athletic Association Collection, AIA 028.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2020 are unknown. James A. Hayden's materials had previously been identified as belonging to a discrete collection, the James A. Hayden Papers (AIA 033), but were reincorporated into the collection at an unknown date.
In 2020, materials in accession number 2012.027 were arranged and described by an archivist. Materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes, as appropriate. Materials were arranged intellectually according to existing series, with paper materials, audio recordings, physical digital materials, and clothing being arranged together physically by type of material.
One CD-R containing data files was forensically imaged and arranged on local storage. A directory was created for the files to be arranged together intellectually in the collection with related material.
New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the content.
In the fall of 2022, an inventory of the 45 rpm recordings was created by an archivist and added to the finding aid and in the summer of 2023, inventories of the 33 and 78 rpm recordings were created by an archivist and added to the finding aid under "Series V. Commercial Recordings, 1916-1992." These recordings were not arranged by an archivist.