Michael Peter Desmond O'Donoghue FSA (born 1971) is an English officer of arms who currently serves as York Herald-of-Arms at the College of Arms, London. [1]
O'Donoghue succeeded Sir Henry Paston-Bedingfeld as York Herald being promoted on 31 May 2012, having previously served as Bluemantle Pursuivant from 2005.
Of ancient Irish descent, he is the only son of Michael John O'Donoghue FGS (1934–2016), an author and lecturer in gemmology at London Metropolitan University, formerly a curator at the British Museum and the National Library of Scotland [2] and Elizabeth Anne Hawkins (née Borley). [3]
After attending Dulwich College, O'Donoghue went up to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (M.A. 1994), [4] where he was President of the Cambridge University Heraldic & Genealogical Society. [5]
After Cambridge, for several years O'Donoghue was a genealogist and researcher, including serving as research assistant to two Windsor Heralds — the late Theo Mathew and Major William Hunt.
With Dr Clive Cheesman (Norroy & Ulster King of Arms), O'Donoghue was co-editor of The Coat of Arms, the journal of the Heraldry Society, the two heralds succeeding in 2005 John Brooke-Little, late Clarenceux King of Arms in its editorship. [6]
Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2015, [7] O'Donoghue was appointed a Member of the Most Venerable Order of St John in 2024. [8]
In 2002, O'Donoghue married Dr Catherine Ann Wolfe. [9]
A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed form it was open at the sides, and it could be worn with or without a belt. Though most were ordinary garments, often work clothes, tabards might be emblazoned on the front and back with a coat of arms (livery), and in this form they survive as the distinctive garment of officers of arms.
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovereign and are delegated authority to act on behalf of the Crown in all matters of heraldry, the granting of new coats of arms, genealogical research and the recording of pedigrees. The College is also the official body responsible for matters relating to the flying of flags on land, and it maintains the official registers of flags and other national symbols. Though a part of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, the College is self-financed, unsupported by any public funds.
Sir Albert William Woods was an English officer of arms, who served as Garter Principal King of Arms from 1869 to 1904. The Woods family has a strong tradition of service at the College of Arms. Albert Woods was the son of Sir William Woods, Garter King of Arms from 1838 until his death in 1842. Likewise, the grandson of Albert Woods was Sir Gerald Woods Wollaston, who also rose to the rank of Garter King of Arms and served there from 1930 until 1944.
Sir Peter Llewellyn Gwynn-Jones was a long-serving Officer of Arms at the College of Arms in London. He was Garter Principal King of Arms, the senior English officer of arms, from 1995 to 2010.
The Heraldry Society is a British organization that is devoted to studying and promoting heraldry and related subjects. In 1947, a twenty-year-old John Brooke-Little founded the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries. This name was changed to The Heraldry Society in 1950. It was incorporated in 1956 and is now a registered educational charity, with the registered charity number 241456.
George Alexander Way of Plean, Baron of Plean CStJ is a Scottish Sheriff and former Procurator Fiscal of the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland. In November 2015, it was announced that he was to be the first Scottish Sheriff to be appointed a member of the Royal Household in Scotland as Falkland Pursuivant Extraordinary at the Court of the Lord Lyon. In December 2017, he was promoted to Carrick Pursuivant in Ordinary and then to Rothesay Herald in 2024. In 2020, he was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of Brechin. In June 2021, he was appointed as Genealogist of the Priory of Scotland in the Most Venerable Order of St.John.
Elizabeth Ann Roads, is a former Scottish herald, an office from which she retired in 2021; in July 2018 she retired as Lyon Clerk at the Court of the Lord Lyon
John Philip Brooke Brooke-Little was an English writer on heraldic subjects, and a long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries, now known as the Heraldry Society and recognised as one of the leading learned societies in its field. He served as the society's chairman for 50 years and then as its president from 1997 until his death in 2006.
David Vines White is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Since 2021, he has served as Garter Principal King of Arms.
Sir Alexander Colin Cole was a long serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Eventually, he would rise to the rank of Garter Principal King of Arms, the highest heraldic office in England and Wales.
The Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society was formed as the result of the merger in 1957 of a previous Heraldic Society with the Cambridge University Society of Genealogists.
David Hubert Boothby Chesshyre was a British officer of arms.
Sir Thomas Woodcock FRHSC is a genealogist who served as Garter Principal King of Arms at the College of Arms from 2010 to 2021.
Sir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan was a Canadian-British herald who was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Having been first appointed to work at the College in 1962, he rose to the office of Garter Principal King of Arms in 1992, a position he held until 1995. He was the first Canadian ever to be appointed to the College of Arms.
Timothy Hugh Stewart Duke, CVO FSA is a retired officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.
Clive Edwin Alexander Cheesman FSA is a British officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He is currently Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, having been appointed to that position on 14 November 2024.
Michael Maclagan was a British historian, antiquary and herald. He was Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford, for more than forty years, a long-serving officer of arms, and Lord Mayor of Oxford 1970–71.
Delhi Herald of Arms Extraordinary was a British officer of arms whose office was created in 1911 for the Delhi Durbar. Though an officer of the crown, Delhi Herald Extraordinary was not a member of the corporation of the College of Arms in London and his duties were more ceremonial than heraldic.
English heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in England. It lies within the so-called Gallo-British tradition. Coats of arms in England are regulated and granted to individuals by the English kings of arms of the College of Arms. An individual's arms may also be borne 'by courtesy' by members of the holder's nuclear family, subject to a system of cadency marks, to differentiate those displays from the arms of the original holder. The English heraldic style is exemplified in the arms of British royalty, and is reflected in the civic arms of cities and towns, as well as the noble arms of individuals in England. Royal orders in England, such as the Order of the Garter, also maintain notable heraldic bearings.
David Ralph Spence is a Canadian retired Anglican bishop.
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