James Connolly was a great storyteller. He authored 25 novels and 200 short stories. Joseph Conrad, author of The Heart of Darkness, referred to him as “America’s best writer of sea stories.” T.S. Eliot and Theodore Roosevelt also expressed admiration for his writing.
But the story of Connolly’s life may be as fantastic as any that he ever told.
He was one of 12 children born to poor Irish immigrants in South Boston. His parents named him Séamus Brendàn Ó Conghaile. His start in life was not overflowing with promise; fast-forwarding 27 years, James Connolly is penniless.
But he was a gifted athlete and a person of fierce determination.
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