(images left to right: Connolly as young athlete, first Olympic medal, medal closeup, Connolly portrait)

The Connolly Collection, donated by James A. Healy, contains the writings and personal library of James Brendan Connolly (1868-1957). Connolly was an Irish-American author of sea-related stories, novels, and nonfiction such as The Book of the Gloucester Fishermen. Born in South Boston, he attended Harvard and was a medal-winning athlete in the first modern Olympics, held in Athens in 1896. He participated in the Siege of Santiago as a member of the 9th Regiment, ran for the 12th Congressional District (South Boston) seat as a member of the Progressive Party in 1914, and worked as a correspondent for such publications as Scribner's, Harper's and Collier's.

The collection includes Connolly's reminiscences, newspaper articles, and galley and page proofs as well as scrapbook clippings. There are also notebooks containing holograph notes on schooners and the navy, letters from Connolly's personal correspondence, and books from Connolly's personal library.

Partial Inventory of Connolly Letters