Daniel J. "Dan" Sullivan was born in 1875 to Hanora and Daniel A. Sulivan in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a classically trained pianist, and his father, a professional fiddle and flute player, introduced him to the Irish music scene in Boston. Dan Sullivan worked for the Steinway Piano Corporation in Boston before himself becoming a full-time professional musician. His focus shifted more exclusively toward Irish traditional music beginning around 1906, when he began writing music with Chauncy Olcott. He formed and led the dance-hall, gramophone, and radio band Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band beginning in the 1920s, specializing in playing Irish traditional music and popular songs. He also recorded some of his own playing and compositions, both on piano rolls and on recording discs. In 1923, Sullivan opened his own piano store, which he operated until his death in 1948.

Sources:

Carolan, Nicholas, and Brian Doyle, "Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band 78s, 1920s-1930s," ITMA, June 1, 2014. https://www.itma.ie/playlists/dansullivansshamrockband/. Accessed July 10, 2024.

Neely, Daniel T., personal correspondence, February 2021.

Daniel A. Sullivan was born in 1840 in Ireland. He lived for some time in London, England, and emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1870. He married Hanora Sullivan shortly thereafter. He played fiddle and flute, specializing in both Irish traditional music and classical repertoire. Sullivan died in 1912.

Sources:

"Baptism of DAN SULLIVAN of N/R on 8 May 1840", Irish Genealogy. https://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/details/0603d30018964 . Accessed July 11, 2024.

"Daniel J. Sullivan," Find A Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196272575/daniel-j.-sullivan

Neely, Daniel T., personal correspondence, February 2021.

Daniel T. Neely is a musician and ethnomusicologist specializing in the music of Ireland and Jamaica. He received a Ph.D in Musicology from New York University in 2008.

As a musician, he is involved in the Irish music community in New York, New York. He writes a weekly column in the Irish Echo, served as the Public Relations Officer for the Mid-Atlantic Region of Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann, was the artistic director of the Augusta Irish Week in Elkins, West Virginia, and has played tenor banjo and directed ensembles and sessions including the traditional music session at Lillie’s Bar and Restaurant in Manhattan, the New York Céilí Band, and the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra.

Neely's research focuses on Irish music in America, particularly as it was played in Boston, Massachusetts in the period 1890-1930 by musicians including Daniel Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, William and Michael Hanafin, Shaun O'Nolan, and others who were involved with the Dan Sullivan Shamrock Band. Neely also focuses on Jamaican mento music, which resulted in his dissertation, “Mento, Jamaica’s Original Music”: Development, Tourism and the Nationalist Frame, and other publications. He also performed on and was music director of the Jolly Boys mento band’s 2010 album Great Expectation.

Sources:

Daniel T. Neely, personal website. https://danieltneely.com/home. Accessed 2024 July 10.

Smith, Sean, "Writer, musician, organizer, academic, Dan Neely is on the lookout for insights," Boston Irish, March 30, 2017. https://www.bostonirish.com/arts/writer-musician-organizer-academic-dan-neely-lookout-insights