[2][3] He was born in the small parish of Mourne Abbey in County Cork, Ireland on 4 May 1934, one of five children of farmers Daniel and Sheila O'Donoghue.
O'Donoghue came to Britain in 1959 to train for the priesthood first at Campion House, Osterley, Middlesex, then from 1961 to 1967 at Allen Hall seminary when it was at St Edmund's, Ware.
For instance, he gave instructions to the schools to halt promotion of contraceptives, remove "anti-Catholic" books from their libraries and prevent the presentation of ideas contrary to the Catholic Church's official teaching.
Some secularist critics, such as Barry Sheerman, a Labour MP and Steve Sinnott of the National Union of Teachers attacked him for his views on education in Catholic schools.
[2] He left the Diocese of Lancaster on 29 May 2009 and retired as an assistant priest to the parish of Bantry on the west coast of County Cork, Ireland.