He played junior hockey for the St. Catharines Black Hawks and was chosen 29th overall by the California Golden Seals in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. In 1969-70 and 1970-71 he was a regular for the Seals as a defensive forward. In 1971-72 O'Donoghue was relagated to the minor pros. In the NHL he played in 125 games and scored 18 goals and 17 assists. In the WHA O'Donoghue was in 147 games with 25 goals and 37 assists.