MacConnell was born in Bellanaleck^[1] near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. He is the youngest member of a musical family. He worked in Dublin for Irish Press Group and, later, with The Irish Times.

MacConnell began writing songs very early in his life. In 1965,^[2] he wrote Only Our Rivers Run Free - a song that describes the natural world being damaged by the Irish border and that has been described by Stuart Bailie as "political but not hectoring".^[3] This encouraged him to seriously devote himself to writing music when he moved to Listowel, County Kerry, where he lives^[4] with his wife, Maura.

MacConnell has released only two albums. His first album, Peter Pan and Me, was released in 1992.^[5] His second album, Joined Up Writing, was released in 2000.

• Music of Ireland