Voting Station

Richard K. Donahue

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Philanthropist

The Resume

    (July 20, 1927-September 15, 2015)
    Born in Lowell, Massachusetts
    Attorney with Donahue & Donahue
    Assistant to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, serving as a liaison between the White House and Congress (1961-63)
    Trusted aide to Senator Edward Kennedy, most actively between the years 1976 and 1980
    Admitted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (1970)
    Served as Chairman of the Board of the Overseers and the Massachusetts Bar Association Commission on Professionalism
    Served as president of both the New England Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association
    Served on the Board of Trustees at the University of Lowell, serving as Chairman in his final three years (1976-90)
    Founding Board Member and former Vice President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation (1984)
    Founder and Chairman of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Committee (1989-96)
    Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for NIKE, Inc. for over 15 years until his retirement in 2007
    Served as President and CEO of NIKE, Inc. between 1990 and 1994

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a member of President Kennedy's celebrated 'Irish Mafia' (or as Jackie Kennedy called it, 'the Murphia').
    He was suspected of ghost-writing Theodore White's book 'The Making of the President 1960.'.
    The reason being that he is described as 'coruscatingly brilliant' in the book and apparently 'to be called brilliant and not have the Kennedy name after it was considered dangerous.'
    He joked after orchestrating Ted Kennedy's 1980 New York Primary upset against President Jimmy Carter, saying 'I came here in a cab, I'm going out in a limousine!'
    He also kidded about his corporate job at Nike, quipping 'I have worked everywhere from the White House down. This job is the only thing that has impressed my kids!'
    He accepted a three-year suspension from practicing law for allegedly crossing ethical boundaries in the Demoulas Supermarket family feud of the 1990s (Dec. 2006).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was named Irishman of the Year by Friends of the John F. Kennedy Library (2004).
    He was a Massachusetts delegate during the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.
    He would also go on to receive the Gold Medal from the Massachusetts Bar Association in 1979.
    He helped found the Merrimack Repertory Theatre and continued to support it financially for 37 years (1979).
    He served as chairman of the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Committee for the ABA.
    He was co-founder, board member and chair of both the Greater Lowell Community Foundation and Lowell Plan, Inc.
    He was a director of the Joyce Foundation in inner-city Chicago, working alongside a young Barack Obama.
    He was charged by Ted Kennedy with heading off the Massachusetts Judgeship Selection Committee's filling four vacant spots in the federal judiciary (1977).
    His role in the disciplinary action in the Demoulas case resulted in his being reinstated to the Bar in good standing by the State Supreme Court.
    Along with Charles U. Daly, he was among the last surviving members of President Kennedy's 'Irish Mafia' (lowering that number to only one surviving member since his passing).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 17 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 84.62% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 79 Votes: 51.90% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 48 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 38 Votes: 63.16% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying