Richard O'Donoghue (born 1970/1971) is an Irish

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

politician who has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Limerick County constituency since the 2020 general election.

Political career

O'Donoghue is a self-employed building contractor. He first stood for election in the 2009 local elections, when he was an unsuccessful

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

candidate for

Limerick County Council Limerick County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Luimnigh) was the authority responsible for local government in County Limerick, Ireland. As a county council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council had 28 elected members. ...

. At the 2014 local elections, he won a seat on the new

Limerick City and County Council Limerick City and County Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach agus Contae Luimnigh) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in the Limerick, City of Limerick and County Limerick in Republic of ...

, but he left Fianna Fáil in December 2015 and sat as independent. At the 2016 general election, O'Donoghue stood as an independent candidate in the Limerick County constituency. He won only 6.4% of the first-preference votes, and was not elected. At the 2019 local elections, he was re-elected to the council, as an independent. At the 2020 general election, he won a seat in Dáil Éireann, ousting the sitting

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

TD Tom Neville. He is the first independent TD to represent the Limerick County constituency. His brother, John O'Donoghue was co-opted to Richard O'Donoghue's seat on

following his election to the Dáil. In 2020, it was reported that O'Donoghue had expressed concern over the speed of development of the COVID-19 vaccines and was quoted as saying that "at the moment I would not like to take it". However, he subsequently said that this was a misunderstanding, and that he was only temporarily unable to have the vaccination because of ongoing medical treatment but would have the vaccination once this was completed. He also asserted that a video circulating on the internet purportedly showing him to be

anti-vaccination Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

was faked.

Personal life

O'Donoghue is married and has four children. He lives in the village of Granagh, County Limerick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonoghue, Richard Year of birth uncertain 1970s births Living people Members of the 33rd Dáil Independent TDs Fianna Fáil local councillors Local councillors in County Limerick Independent local councillors in the Republic of Ireland