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Born in Dublin, a cousin of artist Harry Clarke, MacGonigal, began work as an
apprenctice in his uncle Joshua Clarke's stained-glass studio in North Frederick Street. From 1917 he was a member of Na Fianna
Eireann, and after being interned firstly in Kilmainham Jail and later at Ballykinlar Camp, Co. Down, he took up evening art
classes at the Dublin Metropolitan School. He won the Taylor Scholarship in 1924, and in the same year exhibited at the RHA
for the first time. After a trip to Holland in 1927 to study painting, he returned to Dublin to teach art at the RHA's schools
and as a relief teacher at the DMSA. He was made a full member of the RHA in 1933 and served at the Academy's Keeper 1936-1939
and 1950-1961. In 1962 he was made President, an office he held until 1977. MacGonigal's choice of subject matter was influenced
by Sean Keating: early life in the west of Ireland. His work is now represented in all major collections in Ireland.
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