FAGAN, HARRY (15 Dec.1939-9 Dec. 1992), social activist, influenced community development and POLITICS as director of the Commission on Catholic Community Action in the Diocese of Cleveland (1976-83). Fagan was born in Cleveland; his Irish parents, Harry and Jane Fagan, ran Fagan's Tavern in the FLATS. After graduating from John Carroll University (1961), he worked in advertising at the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER and volunteered at St. Henry Catholic Church. Fagan first joined the Commission on Catholic Community Action full-time in 1971 as associate director. He trained people to create and lead neighborhood coalitions (such as the Buckeye-Woodland Community Council and the St. Clair-Superior Coalition) which attacked social problems and played key roles in local elections. Other positions Fagan held included: chair of the Social Concerns Department of the Ohio Catholic Conference and of the national Catholic Committee on Urban Ministry (1978-80); director of the HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CONGRESS; and board member of the Cuyahoga Plan, the Cleveland Tenants Organization, and the INTERCHURCH COUNCIL OF GREATER CLEVELAND. In 1983 Fagan left Cleveland to help develop the National Pastoral Life Center in New York City. He became associate director there and organized and served on the board of the nationwide Roundtable of diocesan social action directors (1984-92).
In June 1963, Fagan was married to Sheila FitzSimmons; the couple lived in CLEVELAND HEIGHTS. They had two daughters, Alison Soler and Jocelyn. Fagan died in New York.
Fagan, Harry. Empowerment: Skills for Parish Social Action (1979).