Monsignor Matthew O'Donnell MA, BD, DPh was an Irish priest who served as the 26th president of

St. Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland ...

. He was born in Mungret, Co Limerick, in 1932 and studied at

St Mary's College, Galway St Mary's College is a boys secondary school in Galway, Ireland. It educates students aged 12 to 18 for the Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations. It was founded in 1912 as the junior seminary of the Roman Catholic Galway and Kilmacduagh ...

, before moving to begin his studies for the priesthood at Maynooth where he was ordained for service in the diocese of Galway. His early aptitude for philosophy (his main interest was the works of David Hume) was recognised and he received his doctorate in Philosophy from

University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, becoming Professor of Ethics in 1960. 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. to Monsignor Miceal Ledwith. When Ledwith resigned suddenly in 1994 in contested and perhaps controversial circumstances, it was natural that the then Irish Primate Cardinal

Cahal Daly Charles (Cahal) Brendan Cardinal Daly KGCHS (1 October 1917 – 31 December 2009) was an Irish philosopher, theologian, writer and international speaker and, in later years, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Daly served as the Roman Cath ...

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. Dr. O'Donnell died on 7 September 1996, having suffered a heart attack earlier that year. Two postgraduate scholarships for Maynooth College were named in his honour one in Philosophy and one in Theology. He spent some of his childhood in Maynooth where his mother was from and is buried with his parents in Grangewilliam Cemetery just outside Maynooth town.Grangewilliam Donaghmore Graveyard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Matthew 1932 births 1996 deaths Irish educators Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Academics of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Presidents of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic moral theologians Irish ethicists 20th-century Irish philosophers 20th-century Irish educators