Larry Donnelly is a Boston born and educated attorney who is a Lecturer and Director of Clinical Legal Education in the School of Law at the University of Galway. He is the co-author of an award-winning book on legal skills and has written numerous scholarly articles on legal education, comparative law and the interplay between law and politics.

From a prominent Boston Irish political family – his uncle, Brian Donnelly, was the US Congressman responsible for the Donnelly Visa programme – Larry practised law in Boston before relocating to Ireland in 2001. He was active in politics and government in Massachusetts, where he held elected and appointed local positions and worked on numerous campaigns.

Larry began contributing to the international, national and regional media in 2008. His has since become a familiar voice on the airwaves and he is one of the most sought after commentators on American politics and elections – as well as on the relationship between his native US and his adopted Ireland, and Irish politics, society and culture.

He is a regular columnist for TheJournal.ie, The Irish Post and Boston Irish magazine.

Larry’s critically acclaimed memoir – “The Bostonian: Life in an Irish American Political Family” – was published by Gill Books in 2021. He lives in Wicklow Town with his wife, Eileen Whelan, with whom he has two sons, Séan and Larry.

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