His parents were David Walsh, from Mitchellstown, County Cork, Ireland and Joanna Clogan, from Troy, New York.

After finishing the eighth grade, he attended the Brothers' High School for one year, before deciding in 1897 to become a priest.

Accompanied by his mother, he took a train to South Bend where he enrolled at the Congregation of Holy Cross 's seminary.

Walsh was ordained priest at the Apostolic Mission House in Washington, DC, on December 21, 1907 and then took the train for Chicago, where he celebrated his first mass in St. Columbkille's Church on Christmas Day.

As president, he addressed the material needs of the university, particularly the debt and the lack of sufficient space for new students.

On the academic side, credit hours were reduced to encourage in-depth study and Latin and Greek were no longer required for a degree.

[7] He also enlarged the stadium,[8] and built the memorial and entrance transept of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.