Born in Tuam, County Galway, McDonagh was introduced to hurling by his father, a long-serving Gaelic games administrator and schoolteacher.
He developed his hurling skills at Coláiste Éinde, while also excelling at Gaelic football as a result of the coaching of teacher Enda Colleran.
[1] With University College Galway (UCG), McDonagh played both Gaelic football and hurling and was a Fitzgibbon Cup medal winner as a postgraduate student in 1977.
[4] McDonagh enjoyed a lengthy club hurling career with Ballinderreen, while he also played Gaelic football with Cortoon Shamrocks and Barna.
[citation needed] McDonagh captained his club Ballinderreen to the 1978 Galway Senior Hurling Championship Final.
McDonagh made his début on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he first linked up with the Galway minor team.
One of the most iconic moments associated with McDonagh is his rendition of "The West's Awake" from the Hogan Stand in Croke Park after winning that All-Ireland with Galway in 1980.
[6] As a member of the Connacht inter-provincial team at various times throughout his career, McDonagh won two Railway Cup medals.
[2] His son, Eoin, delivering an oration at the funeral mass, quoted O'Hehir in concluding: "Well done Joe McDonagh".