The McGarrity Collection consists of around 3,000 monographs focusing on Irish history, literature, folklore, description and travel, music, and Irish - American history. Among the many pamphlets in the collection are historical ones relating to the Eighteenth Century, particular to the 1798 Rebellion and the Act of Union. The collection also contains runs of Irish and Irish - American journals such as Hibernian Magazine, Walker's Hibernian Magazine, Dublin University Magazine, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy and many others. Among the newspapers is a complete run of The Irish Press (Philadelphia: 1918-1922), which for some time was owned and edited by Joseph McGarrity. See also the Digital Library Joseph McGarrity Collection for digital content from this collection.
This collection was donated to Villanova University in 1940 by Joseph McGarrity. Items, published before 1940, have since been added.