Malachy Donoghue was born in Knockcroghery, Co. Roscommon in 1927. Before he passed away recently at the age of 89, he wrote his autobiography. It’s a wonderful narrative of a life that started in Knockcroghery which continued with work on the Alaskan Pipeline and ended surrounded by his loving family in New York.
In his own words, Malachy described the process of compiling memories from his past.
“Little did I know how complicated my life had been and when I began, I had absolutely no idea where this was going,” he said.
He added that he was “truly grateful” to his “patient and loving wife Maureen” without whose cooperation the book would never have been written. His son Mike also played a vital role in encouraging Malachy’s writing.
Malachy was the fourth of nine children to Jim and Delia Donoghue and the book details his life growing up in the Roscommon village, complete with tales of jam jar fraud and drunk chickens!
His father passed away when Malachy was just eleven years old and this led to him growing up quicker than was anticipated. He took charge of the family farm before later emigrating to the United States. He found work in Fairbanks, Alaska on the Alaskan Pipeline before eventually residing in New York.
He met his wife Maureen and they had three children: Jim, Maura and Mike.
Malachy Donoghue passed away at the age of 89 on September 27th last year. He left behind this beautiful memoir of a life, which began in the peaceful surrounds of rural Roscommon, travelled through the harsh Alaskan environment and ended among the bright lights of New York.
Malachy Donoghue’s ‘The Way It Was’ is available on Amazon where it is currently number 13 on the bestseller list for Irish biographies.
