Rupert John Gordon O’Donoghue was born in Merton, Croydon, Surrey, England in 1894. It is not known where he trained but in 1920 he was practising as an architect. In the early 1920s he was in partnership with Frederick William Marks (1858-1922) as Marks & O'Donoghue. They designed an office building for the Licenses & General Insurance Company Ltd. in Moorgate Street, London. By 1937 he was in partnership with Frederick William Horton Halfhide (1905-1955) as O'Donoghue & Halfhide in London.
O’Donoghue was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1920 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British architects (FRIBA) in 1929.
Hiss address was given as Westerton, Lynwood, Avenue, Epsom in 1920; "Englefleld" Epsom, Surrey. 1923; 8, Staple Inn, London in 1926; 5 Great Tunstite, High Holborn, London in 1930 and 1935; Marcol House, 289-293, Regent Street, London in 1936 and 1939.