P. J. Carley was born in 1866 in County Roscommon, Ireland (then a part of the U.K.).

He was educated in Ireland and immigrated to the United States when he was 17, settling in Brooklyn, New York.

[3][4] He was also involved in banking and several civic causes, including support of the Bay Ridge Memorial Hospital.

[7] Carley was not a candidate for renomination in 1934 and resumed his construction and other business interests.

Carley died in Brooklyn on February 25, 1936, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York.