HIMSELF. DADDY DONOGHUE

Himself. Daddy Donoghue

James Durney

One of the great local characters in bygone Naas was Michael J. ‘Daddy’ O’Donoghue. Daddy is featured in Timmy Conway’s hilarious book Characters. Timmy wrote: ‘In an age before television, local politics and local politicians fulfilled the function of entertainment and were a great source of ‘craic’ and amusement. Of course local politicians dealt with serious matters and accomplished much for the community. But many of them also had the great ability not to take themselves seriously. There was considerable respect in those days for the well-crafted insult or barbed witticism or crushing piece of repartee – even if you were on the receiving end.’

Daddy O’Donoghue was certainly capable of witticisms and was at heart a great entertainer. He had advertisements placed in his gents drapery shop-front window like: ‘Daddy’s trousers down again!’ – advertising that his prices of men’s trousers, obviously, were down – and ‘Cheer up. Bring your coupons to O’Donoghue Himself. The Tailoring Expert at Naas. Note address: “The Suit King,” Naas.’ He was mainly known as Daddy Donoghue.

Born in Naas in 1886, Michael J. O’Donoghue was always keen to say he was a native of the town and not a ‘whistler’ or a ‘blow-in,’ names commonly given to non-locals. He lived with his wife, Bridget, a local nurse and midwife, in a private residence some distance from his shop, at Victoria Terrace, off the Sallins Road. A man of nationalist leanings O’Donoghue served on the Standing Committee of Sinn Féin for several years – along with fellow Kildaremen, Seamus Mitchell, Naas, and Michael Sheehan, Newbridge – and was a prominent member of the Gaelic League. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland. Despite being a member of Sinn Féin and Fianna Fail, for most of his political career O’Donoghue served on the Naas Urban District Council (UDC) as an Independent candidate.

Proposed by Margaret Rafferty and seconded by Patrick Nestor he was first elected to the UDC in 1925. The 1925 local election was a politician’s dream come true. No ballot was required as only nine candidates went forward and the town clerk, Joe Boyle, declared them all elected. There had been ten candidates for the nine seats until the outgoing chairman, Mr. D. J. Purcell, withdrew from the contest.  In the 1928 elections O’Donoghue ran as a Fianna Fail candidate. He was proposed by Dr. Joseph P. Williams and seconded by Rev. Patrick Kearney, C.C.

His premises at 37 North Main Street was gutted by a fire in 1925.  The draper’s shop, which was located at North Main Street was formerly a widow’s home and latterly an ESB office, later ‘Celtic Bookmakers,’ and is again a clothes shop, ‘Happy Days.’ Every year, about three weeks before Christmas, O’Donoghue converted his gents’ outfitters to a toy shop. In the evenings, at 6 pm, he held a penny raffle for a small toy, but ended the practice after remarks about taking pennies from children. Other sources said the raffle was deemed illegal and was stopped by the Garda.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939 Naas UDC had plans approved for the building of ten houses at the Military Barracks. The building contractor declined the contract he said ‘in consequence of the war and its effect on prices’, prompting Daddy to reply: ‘We seem to be taking the war far too seriously. We seem to imagine the bombers overhead already. I think we should take off our coats and get down to this problem of building more houses. There are 120 houses to be built here…’ The tender was re-advertised and given to a Dublin builder at a slightly lower price. Housing conditions in the town at the time were atrocious and O’Donoghue said he visited one house which had so much water in it he needed ‘a boat to sail around the kitchen’.

When a new scheme of houses, built on the Rathasker Road, was to be named the local Labour Party branch proposed to name it Connolly Square after James Connolly, the 1916 leader. Another councilor proposed to name the scheme ‘Coalition Terrace,’ but Councilor O’Donoghue said it was customary to give the parish priest the honour of naming the houses, if he so deserved, and it was decided to continue with that custom. Fr. Doyle, P.P., named the new estate ‘St. Conleth’s Place,’ after Conleth, the first bishop of Kildare.

O’Donoghue ran his own election campaign with the help of a few friends and was elected every time he ran. His election posters and advertisements had sayings like: ‘Your candidate on Merit. He’s worth it. O’Donoghue is for the workers … is a businessman … is an energetic man … won’t be muzzled … is the Ratepayers’ Watch Dog … is no Yes Man … is Your Man … Say it with votes.’ His election profile in the Leinster Leader, 15 August 1942, said:

‘M. J. O’Donoghue. Victoria, Tce. Naas draper and merchant. Proposed by James McHugh; seconded by P. J. Farrington. Has been actively associated with the National Movement for many years, and is on the Executive of the Sinn Fein organization and the National Graves Association. He has been a member of the Naas Urban Council for eight years and is noted as a keen debater.’

The election was held on 19 August 1942 and out of 2,117 voters on the Register of Electors for Naas Urban, 1,293 votes were recorded, representing about 62 per cent of the poll. There were ten candidates for nine seats, with the quota being 127 votes. Daddy O’Donoghue topped the poll with 265 votes on the first count. Mrs. Mary Higgins (Fianna Fail), known as ‘Minnehaha,’ after the wife of a North American Indian chief, was next with 172 votes. Also elected were Michael Fitzsimons, John Dowling (Fine Gael), William Daly, Thomas Drewitt (Labour), Nicholas Murphy (Independent Labour), Thomas Lacy (Independent) and John Lawler. John W. Doyle (Fine Gael), a member of the outgoing Council, was the only candidate defeated.

Proposing a vote of thanks to the Returning Officer, Joe Boyle, O’Donoghue expressed his thanks to the staffs for their courtesy and co-operation. He paid a special tribute to Mr. Boyle, the Town Clerk of Naas, and said that everyone was aware of his efficiency, prudence, conscientiousness, and his work for the municipality. That the Urban Council was able to steer clear of many dangers which has submerged other public bodies, was due to his foresight and his intensive interest in the welfare of the town, he said. The result of the election, O’Donoghue added, proved that democracy was on the crest of wave and plutocracy, or the thing which aped it, was on the ebbing tide. Long might it be so, O’Donoghue said. He paid tribute to the various officials who had conducted the election and thanked the Press for the fair and impartial publicity which had always been accorded to him. Without an organization behind him, he had been able to steer to an overwhelming victory. That spoke for itself and showed that the plain citizen of this country could never be stampeded by false promises or downright hypocrisy.

In the days when there were no television sets and few people had radios exchanges between the local politicians were relayed to the townspeople by the Leinster Leader and were a great source of entertainment. In March 1947 the Urban Council decided to ask the local Gas Works to change the hours 6.30 and 8.30 to 7.00 and 9.00 in regard to turning off the gas. In reply Daddy O’Donoghue said:

‘They should give the people reasonable hours to be out of bed these cold mornings – especially when they have no butter, very little sugar and only concrete bread.’

Councilor Taylor replied: ‘People are asleep at the time they turn off the gas, and when they are up, they turn it off. That’s a cod.’

O’Donoghue was elected Chairman of the UDC in 1953 after the sitting chairperson, Michael J. Fitzsimons, died in office. Older residents of Naas remembered Daddy O’Donoghue as a well-tailored and well-groomed man. He was pictured in a prominent position at republican commemorations in Co. Kildare in the 1940s and 1950s.

Michael J. ‘Daddy’ O’Donoghue died on 24 December 1955, aged seventy. At the meeting of the Urban Council a vote of sympathy was proposed with the relatives of Michael J. O’Donoghue. The Chairman, Mr. T. G. Dowling, said that he had done a great deal of good during his twenty-five years on the Council and he would like to place on record their appreciation of it. His widow, Bridget O’Donoghue, died on 19 May 1962, in Harold’s Cross Hospice, Dublin, and was buried beside her husband, in St. Corban’s Cemetery, Naas.

My thanks to Paddy Behan, Mick Mulvey, Jackie Bracken and Timmy Conway.