Born in Kilkenny in 1949, Doherty initially studied architecture at Bolton Street in Dublin. He then left Ireland and spent five years in Sydney before deciding to follow a full time career as an artist. He still spends several months a year in Sydney. Described once in a conversation by Art Critic Brian Fallon, as the finest photo realist artist in Ireland and England. His work is immediately appealing for it's benign normality with which he captures his subject matter, abandoned corner shops, rusting petrol pumps, landmark shop fronts and various subject matters linked to the sea.