The Adrian Flannelly Show Audio Recordings
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Abstract
Adrian Flannelly (1942-2024) was an Irish broadcaster; and the Chairman and CEO of Irish Radio Network USA. He hosted The Adrian Flannelly Show, a weekly radio program he began in 1969, which consisted of a combination of music; international and national news; cultural news; economic analysis and commentary; and interviews with writers, musicians, politicians, and other public figures. The Adrian Flannelly Show Audio Recordings consists of audiocassette recordings of his weekly Irish American talk radio program, dated approximately 1976-2001; and additional recordings, dated approximately 1983-2000.
Biographical Note
Adrian Flannelly (1942-2024) was an Irish broadcaster and the Chairman and CEO of Irish Radio Network USA. He was a native of Attymass, Co. Mayo in Ireland and emigrated to the United States in 1959 at seventeen years old. He hosted The Adrian Flannelly Show, a weekly radio program he began in 1969, which consisted of a combination of music; international and national news; cultural news; economic analysis and commentary; and interviews with writers, musicians, politicians, and other public figures. Flannelly used his radio show to highlight social and political issues concerning Irish and Irish American communities, including United States immigration reform; the Donnelly, Berman and Morrison visas programs for undocumented Irish youth; and and the conflict in Northern Ireland. He served as the Irish Cultural Liaison for the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City and assissted in the the construction of the memorial. Flannelly also received numerous honors from Irish and Irish American organizations in the greater New York City area including the Irish Echo's Irish American of the Year award. In 2016, was awarded an honorary Doctorate degree from Quinnipiac University; and in 2021, Flannelly was awarded the Irish government's highest honor, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, acknowledging his work in Irish Community Support.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged into two series:
Series I: The Adrian Flannelly Show
Series II: Additional Tapes
Within each series, the episodes have been arranged in chronological order by air date. Undated material was arranged in alphabetical order when possible.
Scope and Contents
The Adrian Flannelly Show Recordings consists of audiocassette recordings donated by Adrian Flannelly. The materials in the collection date from 1976 to 2001 with the bulk of materials dating 1999-2000. Series I: The Adrian Flannelly Show contains 395 episodes of Flannelly's weekly Irish American talk radio program, dated approximately 1976-2001. Flannelly's show consists of a combination of music; international and national news; cultural news; and economic analysis and commentary. Topics including immigration reform, visas for undocumented Irish youth, and the conflict in Northern Ireland were discussed frequently. The show also features interviews with writers, actors, musicians, politicians, and other public figures.
Series II: Additional Tapes, dated approximately 1983-2000, contains sound checks, event coverage, interviews, religious recordings, and music. These were donated by Flannelly, but their association with his radio program is unclear.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; The Adrian Flannelly Show Audio Recordings; AIA 089; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Adrian Flannelly in March 2020. The accession number associated with this gift is 2020.020.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. 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.
Appraisal
In 2021, seven duplicate tapes were deaccessioned from the collection.
In October 2025, 103 audiocassettes affected by mold were deaccessioned after digitization. Two blank tapes were also deaccessioned.
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning, 69 tapes with evidence of mold or other damage were identified and physically separated from the remainder of the collection. For these recordings, the cases and liner notes with descriptive information were photocopied, discarded, and the tapes were housed in acid-free photo envelopes. Materials were described on the collection-level.
The Adrian Flannelly Show Audio Recordings was processed and described by an archivist in the fall of 2021. At the time of processing, an additional 37 tapes with evidence of mold were identified; their descriptive information was recorded; and then the tapes were physically separated from the collection and delivered to New York University's Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department for further treatment. Duplicate tapes were also removed from the collection. The remaining tapes were rehoused in new archival cassette cases (when needed), had media labels adhered to the cases, and placed in acid-free boxes. Original cassette titles were retained, when available.
In Fall 2025, episode descriptions and titles were updated, when possible. Titles in Series I were standardized to reflect episode air dates. Some recordings that had been placed in Series II were moved to Series I once updated descriptions revealed they were episodes of The Adrian Flannelly Show.
