In 1981, he was arrested by French authorities at Orly airport along with fellow IRA volunteer William "Blue" Kelly; the duo were using false passports and Donaldson said that they were returning from a guerrilla training camp in Lebanon. At the 1983 general election, Donaldson was the Sinn Féin candidate in Belfast East, but only polled 682 votes. In the late 1980s, he travelled to Lebanon again and held talks with both Lebanese Shia militias, Hezbollah and Amal, in an effort to secure the freedom of Irish hostage Brian Keenan.