Enda McDonagh (27 June 1930 – 24 February 2021) was an Irish priest of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was ordained a priest in 1955 and served in the Archdiocese of Tuam. He was noted for being the official chaplain to

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

while she was

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

Early life and education

McDonagh was born in Bekan, near

Ballyhaunis Ballyhaunis () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line linking Dublin to Westport and Ballina. It is thought that the town grew up around St Mary's Augu ...

, County Mayo, on 27 June 1930. He was only one of three in his primary class of 24 to continue on to secondary education. He attended St Jarlath's College in

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

. He went on to study at

Maynooth University The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It w ...

, obtaining a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in 1951. McDonagh was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1955. He undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

at Maynooth, obtaining a Doctorate of Theology in 1957. He subsequently earned a degree at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

and a second doctorate in Munich in 1960.

Presbyteral ministry

McDonagh was appointed Professor of Moral Theology and Canon Law at the Pontifical University at Maynooth in 1958, a post which he held until his retirement from full-time teaching in 1995. In the early 1960s, he founded the InterChurch Association of Moral Theology. He was offered a permanent teaching position at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in 1979, but turned it down because he did not want to emigrate from Ireland. McDonagh was also an active supporter of the

ecumenical movement Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

and was involved with the conducting of ecumenical retreats with the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

and other Anglican clergy. Consequently, he was appointed an honorary canon at

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cat ...

, in 2007. McDonagh was very critical about the Catholic Church's refusal to morally condone the use of contraceptives to prevent the spread of

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. One of his ex-students wrote, "In my opinion one of the greatest tragedies to befall the Irish Church in recent times, was its inability to harness the messianic qualities of Enda MacDonagh in a leadership role. but his role of 'outsider' in the Church has played a vital role for many". McDonagh stated in a 2008 newspaper interview: "I’m a critical but loyal member of the Church. There’s no other church I want to belong to.....I got angry at times about certain things and wrote about them fairly strongly, but at the same time I wanted to be a priest of the Church."

Public service

McDonagh was a close friend of a former Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, and officiated at his funeral Mass. He also served as official chaplain to President Mary Robinson.McDonagh gets UCC Governing body post
by Dick Hogan, Irish Times, 28 January 1999. McDonagh sat on the Senate of the National University of Ireland, and was part of the board of the Higher Education Authority. He served a three-year term from 1988 as President of

The Irish Association for Cultural, Economic and Social Relations The Irish Association for Cultural, Economic and Social Relations is a membership-driven forum for the shared concerns of a wide range of organisations and individuals involved in North–South Irish affairs. The Association was founded in 1938 ...

. He was appointed the chairman of the governing body of

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

in 1999. One year later, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate by University College Cork. He was subsequently awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by Trinity College, Dublin, in 2001.Recipients Honorary Degrees
University of Dublin - Trinity College.

Later life

McDonagh died on 24 February 2021 at the age of 90.

Publications

Books Articles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonagh, Enda 1930 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Irish Roman Catholic theologians Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Academics of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Religious leaders from County Mayo People from County Galway 21st-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic theologians