Thomas O'Donnell (1864-1949), who served as President of All Hallows College from 1920 to 1948, and is now a part of the expanded campus of Dublin City University.
John Hand (1807-1846), and run by the Vincentians order of priests as a seminary to educate future Roman Catholic missionaries to serve abroad.
William Purcell, then President of All Hallows, commissioned a building to honour his predecessor, Fr.
Hand, O’Donnell House was inaugurated by the Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid.
The building, constructed as a modern example of Irish monumental Palladian architecture, was used for primarily for lectures.