Patrick Joseph O'Donnell was born in Glenties, County Donegal in 1856. Educated in the High School, Letterkenny, the Catholic University, Dublin (1873-'75) and St Patrick's College, Maynooth, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1880. In that same year he was appointed to the staff of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, holding the chairs of Dogmatic and Moral Theology. In 1884 he became dean of the revived post-graduate Dunboyne Institute. From his desk in Maynooth he poured out a continuous stream of articles on moral theology and canon law.

Signed by author Padraig O'Baoighill. New.