Monsignor Matthew O'Donnell MA, BD, DPh was an Irish priest who served as the 26th president of St. Patrick's College, Maynooth.
[citation needed] His straightforward manner and capacity for thoughtful decision-making saw him appointed Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in 1973 and later still, vice-president of Maynooth in 1980.
When Ledwith resigned suddenly in 1994 in contested and perhaps controversial circumstances, it was natural that the then Irish Primate Cardinal Cahal Daly would press for his old friend and philosophical colleague Matt O'Donnell to be made College President.
For that generosity of service to Maynooth as it headed into its bicentenary year, O'Donnell should be remembered.
[citation needed] Dr. O'Donnell died on 7 September 1996, having suffered a heart attack earlier that year.