Thomas Connellan

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Thomas Connellan, Irish composer, born c.1640, died 1698.

Connellan was born about 1640/1645 at Cloonmahon, County Sligo. Both he and his brother, William Connellan became harpers. Thomas is famous for the words and music of "Molly MacAlpin", which is better known today as "Carlolan's Dream". Turlough O'Carolan, Ireland's pre-eminent composer of the 17th and 18th centuries, loved the song so much that he is stated as saying that he would have traded all his own tunes in order to be the composer of Molly MacAlpin.

Another tune by Connellan, "Molly St. George", along with "Molly MacAlpin" and "Eileen Aroon" (by Cearbhall O'Dalaigh), comprise the three earliest Irish harp tunes with extant lyrics. Yet another of Connellan's tunes was "The Dawning of the Day", which was recast by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh to his poem, "Raglan Road". In this latter-day incarnation, it has reached a worldwide audience, being covered by The Dubliners, Luke Kelly, Van Morrison, Joan Osborne, Sinéad O'Connor, and Mark Knopfler. This article confuses O'Connellan's "The Dawn of Day" sometimes called "The Golden Star" with the pentatonic air to which the words "The Dawning of the Day"/"Raglan Road" are sung. The O'Connellan air is different. Words are still sung to variants of it which mostly use only the first half of the air as printed in Bunting and other collections. Among the songs sung to it today are (a) Brendan Behan's "The Ould Triangle" from "The Quare Fella" and (b)in the West of Ireland "The Galway Shawl"