Charles Donnelly received his early education in the Christian Brothers school in Dundalk. When he was 14 in 1928, the family moved again, this time to Dublin, where Joseph bought a house on Mountjoy Square in the north inner city. He enrolled in O'Connell School on North Frederick Street, but was expelled after only a few weeks. He spent the next few months wandering the streets of Dublin during school time before his father discovered what had happened. At this time also, Charles met and was befriended by