Patrick Connolly was born on 5th October 1886 in Kilnacran, County Monaghan to Charles Connolly and Anne McBennett. After moving to Liverpool, he lived with his wife, Mary Ann Connolly (née Hayden), a suffragette, at 335 Grafton Street.
As far as we are aware Patrick only served on one vessel prior to the SS Adela. In 1911, he signed on to the Fulmar at Liverpool, listed as a carpenter. The Fulmar sailed a route which included Liverpool, Belfast, the Netherlands and Belgium. Patrick was an Irish volunteer, refusing to join the British army during World War One. Instead, he became the ship’s carpenter on the SS Adela , serving with the Mercantile Marine. He signed onto the ship sometime in the second half of that fateful year 1917. According to the Ship’s Captain, Patrick died quickly when the SS Adela was torpedoed and was not one of the crew who made it to the lifeboat.
He left three children: Rosaleen (born 1913), Eileen (born 1915) and Patricia, who was born several months after Patrick’s death, in 1918. He has three grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and currently, eleven great-great grandchildren. His descendants live in London, Shrewsbury, Southport, Whitley Bay, York and Mexico City.
