Richard O'Donoghue (born 1970/1971) is an Irish politician who has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Limerick County County Limerick () is a western county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. It is named after the city of Limerick. Limerick City and County Council is the loc ...

constituency since the 2020 general election. Originally in Fianna Fail, he was elected as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

TD, and in 2023 he joined the newly formed

Independent Ireland Independent Ireland is a right-wing political party in Ireland. It was formed on 8 November 2023 by former independent TDs Michael Collins and Richard O'Donoghue. Their elected representation was subsequently boosted by the joining of TD M ...

party.

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 (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

candidate for

Limerick County Council Limerick County Council () was the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council had 28 elected ...

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

Limerick City and County Council Limerick City and County Council () is the local authority of Limerick City and County in Ireland. It came into operation on 1 June 2014 after the 2014 local elections. It was formed by the merger of Limerick City Council and Limerick Count ...

, 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 Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

, ousting the sitting

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

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 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

s 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 Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...

was faked. In November 2023, he was named as the general secretary of

, a new

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

led by

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

, TD for Cork South-West.

Personal life

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

Granagh Granagh () is a small village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is close to the village of Ballingarry and near the N20 road between Croom and Charleville. Granagh is a chapel village (a village that grew up around the church). The camogie te ...

, County Limerick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonoghue, Richard Year of birth uncertain 1970s births Living people Members of the 33rd Dáil Independent TDs Independent Ireland TDs Fianna Fáil local councillors Independent local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Members of Limerick City and County Council Members of the 34th Dáil