This collection consists of approximately 250 photographs, arranged in 5 series. The majority of the photos are black and white, 8 x 10 prints. While the collection also contains some photos that Dolan collected from earlier in the twentieth century, the majority of the photos were taken and printed by Dolan himself during the 1970s and 1980s, and focus heavily on Irish-American social and political events in and around New York City. The activities of many well-known Irish-American groups, such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the United Irish Counties Association (as well as individual county associations), and the Irish National Caucus are documented in the collection, along with images of the day-to-day life of individuals. As Dolan lived and worked in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, many of the photos are focused there. There is also a heavy emphasis on Irish-American politics, particularly on protests about the political situation in Northern Ireland at the time.

Dolan provided handwritten descriptions of the majority of the photos in the collection. Most descriptions note the date, the event, and if known, identify the people in the photograph. Often, there are individuals indentified in these descriptive notes who are not mentioned in the folder titles. Although Dolan worked on a freelance basis, some of his photographs were published in Irish-American newspapers, and the description notes if the photograph was published.