William Connolly (1839-1870s/1880s), was a renowned Irish piper in the mid 1800s, in Ireland and The United States. William Connolly was born in

Milltown, County Galway Milltown () is a small village in County Galway, Ireland. It is situated on the banks of the River Clare, 47 km from Galway City, 11 km from Tuam on the N17 road to Sligo. History The parish of Milltown is made up of the two civil p ...

, to Liam Dáll Connolly (whose grandson was piper John Burke). His brother John, was also a piper. Early in life, he and his brother John travelled to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, sailing from there to the United States, where John settled. William travelled on to Canada, playing, ''"in that country for an unusually long time"'' on steamers up and down the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. Having made a great deal of money, he relocated to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he bought a house. This was sold in 1863 as Connolly feared he would be drafted into the Union army as a result of the ongoing

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. ''"Besides, he realized that it was much easier for him to handle a

chanter The chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody. It consists of a number of finger-holes, and in its simpler forms looks similar to a recorder. On more elaborate bagpipes, such as the Northumbrian bagpipes or the ...

than a rifle, so he lost no time in getting back to Liverpool, in which cosmopolitan city he remained four years."'' He returned to Milltown after leaving Liverpool and before sailing again to the US, ''"Modesty evidently was not his most conspicuous virtue, for we are told that he engaged a boy to carry his set of bagpipes through Milltown, with a view to impress the people with a due sense of his importance."'' He settled this time in Waltham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where he built a dance hall. Restless, he made

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

his home for a time, returning to Waltham, then back to San Francisco. He left California for the last time intending to buy the Hibernian Hall in Brooklyn, but was unable, ''"as his wife would not consent to the sale of her home in Waltham"''. He then moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where he died sometime in the 1870s or perhaps 1880s. His brother John also appears to have spent some time in San Francisco. According to fellow piper,

Patsy Touhey Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among It ...

, John Connolly died about 1895 at

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

. O'Neill reported that, ''"Mr. Burke, to whom we are indebted for the above information, says ''"William Connolly was the best general player on the Irish pipes on either side of the Atlantic."'' Michael Egan, the famous maker of the Irish or Union pipes, who knew all the best pipers of his day, was of the same opinion."''

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* ''Famous Pipers who flourished principally in the second half of the nineteenth century'' Chapter 21 in ''Irish Minstrels and Musicians'', by Capt.

Francis O'Neill Francis O'Neill (August 28, 1848 – January 26, 1936) was an Irish-born American police officer and collector of Irish traditional music. His biographer Nicholas Carolan referred to him as "the greatest individual influence on the evolution of ...

, 1913. {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, William 1839 births 19th-century Irish male musicians Irish male uilleann pipers Musicians from County Galway Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Irish expatriates in the United States Year of death missing People from Milltown, County Galway 19th-century Irish uilleann pipers

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