From 1987 to 2023, until Daniel Whelan was selected as punter for the Green Bay Packers, O'Donoghue had been the most recent Irish-born American to have played in the NFL.
[3] He was named after his maternal uncle, a member of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who died fighting in the Second World War.
In order to apply for American citizenship, she briefly lived in Cuba and on the news of her father's death, returned to Ireland, where she reconnected with Michael O'Donoghue, who worked for Great Southern Railways.
O'Donoghue was working part-time for CIÉ as a ticket inspector,[4] and with his mother returning to her nursing job, he decided to visit the campus where he became the first Irish person to be awarded a soccer scholarship.
[10] O'Donoghue was selected in the fifth round of the 1977 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, but was cut five games into the 1977 season, despite ending a fourteen match losing streak by scoring the sole field goal against the Atlanta Falcons.
In the 1979 season, O'Donoghue's sole field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs, in a game dubbed "the Rain Bowl", meant that Tampa Bay won the NFC Central for the first time.
[2] In the playoffs, O'Donoghue made a 19-yard field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles,[11] effectively sending the Bucs to the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Neither side were able to score a touchdown, but the Bucs were blown out 9–0, with the Rams' Frank Corral making all three field goals.
[3] Over the summer, head coach John McKay found his kicking to be too erratic and he was replaced with Garo Yepremian,[2] after which he worked in construction.
[12] Head coach Jim Hanifan had O'Donoghue and Steve Little, a former first-round pick who had struggled in the NFL, participate in a kicking contest from 25 yards out.
[9] The next day, he ran into Little, who offered him out for a drink, but O'Donoghue declined as he felt he too was rusty and had to practice before the season opener against the Washington Redskins.
In the 1983 season, he missed three field goal attempts in overtime of a Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, resulting in a 20–20 tie.