Richard O'Donoghue

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For the English actor, see Richard O'Donoghue (actor). For the American attorney, see Richard Donoghue.

Richard O'Donoghue
TD
Richard O'Donoghue (official portrait) 2020 (cropped).jpg
Teachta Dála
Assumed office
February 2020
ConstituencyLimerick County
Personal details
Born1970/1971 (age 51)[1]
NationalityIrish
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Fianna Fáil (until 2015)
Spouse(s)Kay O'Donoghue
Children4

Richard O'Donoghue (born 1970/71) is an Irish Independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick County constituency since the 2020 general election.[2][3]

Political career[]

O'Donoghue is a self-employed building contractor.[1]

He first stood for election in the 2009 local elections, when he was an unsuccessful Fianna Fáil candidate for Limerick County Council. At the 2014 local elections, he won a seat on the new Limerick City and County Council, but he left Fianna Fáil in December 2015 and sat as independent.[4]

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.[4]

At the 2019 local elections, he was re-elected to the council, as an independent.[4] At the 2020 general election, he won a seat in Dáil Éireann, ousting the sitting Fine Gael TD Tom Neville.[3] 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 Limerick City and County Council following his election to the Dáil.

O'Donoghue has said that he will refuse to take a COVID-19 vaccine, stating that he "has never taken a flu vaccine". O'Donoghue's comments were criticised by Gabriel Scally, president of the Epidemiology and Public Health section of the Royal Society of Medicine, who said there were "no basis" for his claims.

Personal life[]

O'Donoghue is married and has four children. He lives in the village of Granagh, County Limerick.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Raleigh, David (10 February 2020). "Election 2020: Richard O'Donoghue (Independent)". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Richard O'Donoghue". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Election 2020: Limerick County". RTÉ News. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Richard O'Donoghue". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
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