1954 - 55 Prof. Conor O'Malley (No 2)

Conor in his Order of Malta uniform at Howth Castle in 1961

Charles Conor O'Malley (1889-1982) B.Sc., M.D., K.M. was the youngest child of Peter and Mary O'Malley of Kilmilkin, Maam, Co. Galway, Conor qualified as a doctor in 1917, and served with the British Navy during the First World War. In 1924 he married Dr. Sal. Joyce, daughter of Thomas Francis and Sabina Joyce of Muintir Eoin and Leenane, Co. Galway, Her sister Sabina was married to John J O'Malley of Westport, making John J and Conor, the first two chieftains of the Clan brothers-in-law. Conor became Professor of Opthalmology and Otology in University College Galway, and was one of the most prominent eye, ear, nose and throat surgeons in the west of Ireland. A keen sportsman, he was also intensely interested in archaeology and family history. He brought the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps to Ireland, and in 1958 became a Grand Knight of that Order. Apart from his many contributions to medical journals, he wrote extensively on travel and his early experiences as a medical student and golfer in the Galway of his youth. His publications include A History of the Founding of the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps in Ireland; The Story of Queen's College, Galway; and With a Fishing Rod in Ireland. Volume 9 of the O'Malley Journal includes his Memories of a Connemara Childhhood. Having helped to organize the first O'Malley Rally, Conor became chieftain in 1954, and Guardian Chieftain at the death of his brother-in-law, John J. O'Malley in 1959. He held his rally in the Warwick Hotel, Salthill Galway. His daughter Ann O'Malley Kelly was Chieftain No 44 in 1996 - 97 and served as Guardian Chieftain from 2003 to 2009. His granddaughter Sarah Kelly McCabe was Chieftain No 62 in 2016 - 17, A more complete description of Conor's life is available in the Dictionary of Irish Biography. An account of his wartime (WWI) service in the Royal Navy by his daughter Ann O'Malley Kelly is to be found in the 2003 edition (No 10) of the O'Malley Journal.

Conor as a teenager

Conor In WWI Naval Uniform

Conor with Mrs Christina O'Malley at the 1961 O'Malley Clan Rally in Galway