About Denis Donoghue

Denis Donoghue (1 December 1928 – 6 April 2021) was an Irish literary critic. He was the Henry James Chair of English and American Letters at New York University.

Donoghue was born at Tullow, County Carlow, into a Roman Catholic family, the youngest of four surviving children. He was brought up in Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland, where his father, Denis, was sergeant-in-charge of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. His mother was Johanna (O'Neill) Donoghue.

He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers at the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Newry.[2] He stood 6'7".

He studied Latin and English at University College Dublin, earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1949, an M.A. in 1952, a Ph.D. in 1957, and a D.Litt. (honoris causa) in 1989. He then studied Lieder singing at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.[4] He earned an M.A. at the University of Cambridge in 1964, and returned to Dublin, becoming a professor at UCD.