John Patrick Donaghy was an Irish nationalist politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and a physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

.

Born into a Roman Catholic family, Donaghy studied medicine at Queen's University Belfast, graduating in 1943, and working at the Mater Infirmorum Hospital

Mater Infirmorum Hospital

The Mater Infirmorum Hospital, commonly known as The Mater is an acute hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland and serves a population of over 200,000 people. It provides services to most of North Belfast and South Antrim, reaching as far as Glengormley, Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey. It also...

 in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 from 1948 until his retirement in 1984. He also lectured at Queen's University.

From 1953 until 1969, Donaghy served in the Senate of Northern Ireland

Senate of Northern Ireland

The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.-Powers:...

, first as an independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

, then for the Nationalist Party

Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)

The Nationalist Party† - was the continuation of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and was formed after partition, by the Northern Ireland-based members of the IPP....

. There, he attempted to promote the Irish language

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

. In his spare time, he served as a leading member of the Down and Connor Catholic Marriage Advisory Council, the Catholic Doctors' Guild of Saint Luke, Cosmos and Damian and the Irish Association of Catholic Doctors. Also a commissioner of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland, he was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice

The Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal is an award of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also known as the "Cross of Honour". The medal was established by Leo XIII on July 17, 1888, to commemorate his golden sacerdotal jubilee and was originally bestowed on those women and men who had aided and...

medal in 1986.