Friends Remember Barry Donahue As Gifted Photojournalist, Salty Character

BREWSTER – Barry Donahue, a photojournalist whose lens captured every angle of life on the Lower Cape for decades — and who contributed more than his own share of local color — died on Sept. 16 at the age of 71. He leaves behind a beloved family, a wide circle of friends, colleagues and mentees, and a photographic legacy of the place he loved best.

 Over a career that spanned around 50 years, Mr. Donahue worked for five newspapers, starting with Worcester Magazine in the city where he grew up. When he and wife Mary moved to the Cape in 1984, he worked for The Register in Yarmouth, The Cape Codder and The Cape Cod Voice before ultimately freelancing for The Cape Cod Chronicle. His artistic eye and his curiosity made him a natural photojournalist.

 “When we went out on assignment together, he would listen intently to the interview, and I always made room at the end for his questions, which were often better than mine,” said Doreen Leggett, longtime reporter for the Codder. “He didn’t just take photos; he revealed personalities and places because he cared about his craft and the Cape,” she said. 

 Greg O’Brien, former editor and publisher of The Cape Codder, described Mr. Donahue as a man of extraordinary talent and vision and a good friend. 

 “Barry Donahue had the eye of an eagle, the poise of a great artist, the talent of one of the best news photographers that Cape Cod has ever seen, and the soul of a great person,” O’Brien said. “My heart goes out to his family. We’ve lost an incredible individual.”

 Mr. Donahue trained at the New England School of Photography, interning at the Harvard University press office before joining Worcester Magazine. It was in 1975 that he went on a blind date with Mary Conley, the woman who would become his wife; together they raised two children, daughter Meghan and son Brendan. Mr. Donahue often shared proud stories of his children, and later, his four beloved grandchildren, who knew him as “Bumpa.”

 Colleague Rich Eldred began working with Mr. Donahue at the Codder in 1992, and the two shared a darkroom when Eldred was the sports editor and photographer. 

 “He could do artistic, atmospheric shots that could hang in a gallery, that would be displayed full-page for our Friday edition,” Eldred recalled. Mr. Donahue’s critiques improved his photography and his professionalism sharpened Eldred’s work, he said. “He was a real newsman dedicated to journalism. I remember at one of the meetings we had about the direction of the newspaper, we were asked what the paper should be. He just answered, ‘It should be essential,’” Eldred said.

 Ed Maroney was the former managing editor of the Codder, and remembers Mr. Donahue as “one of the engines of Cape journalism” in its heyday. 

 “‘What have you got?’ the photo editor of The Cape Codder would demand as he stalked the newsroom, extracting ideas for photos to accompany stories still in larval form,” Maroney said. “He knew that Cape Cod was more than meetings in overlit rooms, and always encouraged awareness of the natural world and its tales.” His wide lens took in everything from the Brewster Flats to Georges Bank (the latter encountered aboard a research ship out of Woods Hole on a truly perilous journey). 

 “With Barry Donahue,” Maroney added, “journalism was serious fun.” 

 Mr. Donahue spent many years at the Codder, taking a break to help start a new newsmagazine.

 “When a handful of us started The Cape Cod Voice in the early 2000s, Barry took a big leap of faith to leave the Community Newspaper Company and join a merry band of enterprising local journalists,” former Voice publisher Seth Rolbein said. “So it was fitting that in our first issue we featured one of his great photos, a fox in mid-air above the marsh, and captioned it ‘Leap of Faith.’”

 Near the end of his career, before retiring for good to focus on his grandchildren, Mr. Donahue was a freelancer for The Cape Cod Chronicle.

 “We always knew Barry would come through with any assignment,” said Editor Tim Wood. “That’s when he was available; he always put his family, especially his grandchildren, first. That could be frustrating, but I always admired him for doing that.”

 Another Chronicle staffer, Natalie Davis, worked with Donahue at the Codder and remembers him as one of a kind.

 “His sense of humor, delightful. His photojournalism, compelling. He was generous with his time and his talent,” she said. “I will forever appreciate when he and Matthew Cavanaugh shared their Cape Codder portfolios with fans at a fundraiser I had organized. I believe we titled it, ‘Shapes and Shadows on Cape Cod.’”

Mr. Donahue loved the water and relished clamming and rowing, even taking part in 20-mile competitive rows around Cape Ann. In his basement, he built graceful wooden dories that he enjoyed rowing around Pleasant Bay and Sheep Pond. As a kayaker, Davis was lucky enough to be invited on several of Mr. Donahue’s rowing group excursions. 

 “His enthusiasm for being on the water, simply messing about in boats, with his back to the sea, was contagious,” she said.

 “He loved any assignment that got him out on the water,” Eldred said. “He once spent three days on a fishing boat to shoot them at work and rest.” Mr. Donahue’s best work were photo essays. “He loved real photojournalism when he could use his skills across multiple pictures to document an event or a life,” he said.

 A celebration of Mr. Donahue’s life is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 5 from 3 to 5 p.m., in the former Cape Codder press room at 5 Namskaket Rd., Orleans.

 “The world lost a legendary photographer last week,” said Merrily Cassidy, photographer for the Cape Cod Times and previously a reporter with The Cape Codder and Harwich Oracle. “I lost my mentor and more importantly my friend,” she said.