Edward Harrigan had a couple of biographers. Kahn, E.J. mentioned above and Moody, Richard. Read both books for balance. Neither is really expensive. Reading these 2 books will enlighten anyone as to what they want to know about Harrigan. Don Meade also wrote a very fine short article on Harrigan in New York Irish History, vol. 11 (1997). As mentioned above, the NYPL has the Harrigan papers. If you want to get very deep into Harrigan, go to the NYPL branch at Lincoln Center (theatre division). Harrigan's publishers produced songsters as well as sheet music. Those are on the same floor (in the music division). Bring a computer or notebook with you because these are not the sort of items you can check out.      

The Finson books (there are 2, vol. 1 and vol. 2) are notations of the many songs that Harrigan (lyricist) wrote with his friend and father-in-law, David Braham (composer). They are expensive because they do not have mass appeal. Not all of Harrigan's songs were written with Braham but the overwhelming majority were. The Lester Levy collection has a lot of original sheet music (as mentioned above).

If you just want to find out what Harrigan's songs sounded like, buy "McNally's Row of Flats," a CD by Mick Moloney and friends put out by Compass Records: www.compassrecords.com.

Harrigan, at about age 59 as I recall, wrote a novel entitled The Mulligans. That's usually fairly expensive in bookstores, very good reading in parts.

That's the Harrigan story. It's as rich as deep as you want to dig. Harrigan was a real New York guy. Seek and you will find a lot of New York City social history between about 1860 and 1900.

All the best,
Dan Milner