He was educated at Ballyvourney Vocational School, and worked as a farmer before entering politics on a full-time basis.
He retained his seat until the 1989 general election, when he lost out to his running mate, Laurence Kelly.
In Dáil Éireann, he was a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Heritage and the Irish language, and was also a member of the Joint House Services Committee.
He lost his seat at the 2007 general election to party colleague Batt O'Keeffe.
[3] His son Aindrias Moynihan was elected as a TD for Cork North-West in 2016.