Walter McDonald was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, theologian and Professor.

Life and education

McDonald was born in 1854 in Nicholastown,

Mooncoin Mooncoin () is a census town in County Kilkenny, in Ireland. The population was 1,175 in 2016. Historically part of the Gaelic kingdom of Osraige, today it is in the far south of the county of Kilkenny, located in the valley of the River Suir ...

, Co. Kilkenny. He was educated at

St Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the pas ...

, Kilkenny and St. Patrick's College, Maynooth and was ordained to the priesthood in 1876 for the

Diocese of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been ...

. He taught first at St Kieran's College before being appointed Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Maynooth where he taught for over 40 years until his death in 1920. Dr McDonald served as prefect of the Postgraduate students in ''Dunboyne Establishment'' in Maynooth, founding the ''

Irish Theological Quarterly ''Irish Theological Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes systematic, moral, and historical theology as well as sacred scripture. It was established by Walter McDonald and Dr. John Harty in 1906, published by ...

'' in 1909, which ceased publication after his death, but was re-published from 1954 on, and still published today from Maynooth College.

Professional work and reputation

He was known for his opposition to the use of violence in the Irish Nationalist struggle for an independent Ireland and addressed the

War of Independence (Ireland) The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

in ''Some Ethical Questions on War and Peace, with Special References to Ireland'' in 1919. He maintained a wide circle of friends including the playwright

Sean O'Casey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

and other figures in Irish cultural life. In the bicentenary history of Maynooth by Patrick Corish one reviewer assesses McDonald's place in that history as merited because he was "the only original theologian Maynooth produced in its first century" who had to "resort to extraordinary means so that his criticisms of seminary education could be published posthumously." This is a reference to his posthumously published reminiscences in which the independent, outspoken and greatly loved scholar-priest, deplored teaching through Latin and the absence of "free and open competition in all appointments to the staff."

Publications

* ''History of the Parish of Mooncoin'' by Rev. Walter McDonald, D.D., Maynooth. * ''Reminiscences of a Maynooth Professor'', by Dr. Walter McDonald, edited by Denis Rolleston Gwynn (1925) * ''Some Ethical Questions on War and Peace'', by Rev. Dr. Walter McDonald, (1919)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Walter 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Academics of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 1854 births 1920 deaths People from County Kilkenny 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests