Founded in 2003, the Gaelic Roots Music, Song, Dance, Workshop, and Lecture Series at Boston College has brought together accomplished performers and experts in Irish, Scottish, American, and related folk music traditions. The Series, which is sponsored by the Boston College Center for Irish Programs, takes its name from the Boston College Gaelic Roots Festival (1993-2003). Séamus Connolly is the creator and organizer of both the summer Gaelic Roots Festival and the academic-year Gaelic Roots Series. For many years Elizabeth Sweeney, Irish Music Librarian, served a co-organizer. Since 2016, Sheila Falls Keohane, faculty with the Music Department, has served as Director for the Series.

Séamus Connolly, traditional Irish musician, performer and teacher. Born in 1944 into a musical family in Killaloe, County Clare, Ireland, Connolly began playing the fiddle at age 12 and went on to win many awards at All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann fiddle competitions. As a young musician he traveled throughout Ireland, meeting and playing music with many of the legends of Irish music, and performing regularly on Irish radio and television.

In 1976 he immigrated to America and settled in the Boston area. He has given performances and workshops around the world, and created the Gaelic Roots Festival (1993-2003) at Boston College, where he was appointed Sullivan Family Artist-in-Residence in 2004. In 2003, Connolly founded the Gaelic Roots Music, Song, Dance, Workshop, and Lecture Series at Boston College and served as its director until his retirement in 2015.