Born in Belfast, Joseph Connolly (1886-1961) was an ardent nationalist, and co-founder of the first Freedom Club to propagate the gospel of Sinn Fein in 1911. He was a leader of the Irish Volunteers in Belfast in 1914-1916, and was interned after the Easter Rising. He served on a commision of the first Dail. In 1923, Connolly played a major role in channelling the activities of anti-treatyites into a new political organization. He was a member of the Seanad (1928-36), a director of the Irish Press (1931-2), Minister for Post and Telegraphs (1932), minister for Lands and Forestry (1933-6) and chairman of the Office of Public Works (1936-50).