Padraig “Paud” O’Donoghue (1922 – 2009)

Padraig “Paud” (pronounced “Podge”) O’Donoghue worked in the British colonial service where, among duties, he helped move Somalia into independence. In 1960, he was the attorney general of the British protectorate and he completed his tenure in 1962. When Yukon was looking at self-government, O’Donoghue was hired as the Yukon's first territorially appointed legal advisor. He arrived with his family of wife Joan and seven children. He had great confidence, disliked bureaucracy, and crafted Yukon’s legal system as there were no other draftsmen. He had vast connections in Canada’s legal system and proposed legislation received top counsel. The family moved to Riverdale in the early 1970s. O'Donoghue started painting at age sixty, and many Yukoners have his paintings. He stepped down as deputy minister after suffering two heart attacks. He and Joan moved to Vancouver and started playing small parts in movies. In 1998, O'Donoghue complained to the Canadian minister of immigration about the backlog of refugee claimants and accepted a job when it was offered. Paud O'Donoghue was the principal architect of the modern Yukon legal system.¹⁾