Mattie Connolly  1940 - 2024 

It is with a great deal of shock and much sadness that the news of Mattie Connolly’s passing reached us over the weekend. Mattie was a giant in Irish Traditional music circles, and a renowned Uilleann piper, bass player and singer. Born in NYC, he moved back to Ireland, as an infant. He grew up in Scotstown, Co. Monaghan, where, surrounded by talented musicians in the family, including his fiddle playing mother, Helena, he learned and honed his music skills on the pipes.

      In the tough economic times of the early sixties, the young Mattie Connolly decided to return to the big city of his birth, NYC. He continued to play and be involved in the cities traditional music scene and in the mid-60’s, he formed The Majestic Showband, playing a range of venues around New York – with a few regular residencies thrown in. In 1980, Mattie won the Senior All Ireland Uilleann Pipe Championship at the Fleadh Cheoil in Donegal. In 1986, he was honoured with the Hall of Fame award by the American Irish Musicians. Again in 2008 he received further honours by being inducted into the Comhaltas Mid Atlantic Hall of Fame.

      A great singer and storyteller as well as a master piper, Mattie usually told the story of his old set of Alf Kennedy pipes with the Leo Rowsome chanter, which he always played on stage. The famous set of pipes once belonged to Hollywood actor James Cagney, whose wife gifted them to Mattie. Mattie Connolly played many of the top festivals across the USA. He guided many young and not so young musicians through his numerous workshops, and he freely gave his time and support to many worthy causes, charities and benefits over many years. The Portrait above was made at one such fundraising event at Connolly’s Pub on 47^th Street in Manhattan. He really was not comfortable in front of the camera, but being a kind and gentle man, he humoured me. He raised a family of four fine musicians, and I had the great pleasure of photographing his well-known vocalist daughter Deirdre, for her much rated solo CD  ‘A Song in Turn’, produced by the very talented Gabriel Donohue. I am including a track from that CD featuring the voice of the late Mattie Connolly. Enjoy the rich character and talent of his voice, a true Irishman and a serious loss to traditional Irish music.