| Country | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Ancestral house |
|
| Titles |
Ancient:
Later sept titles: |
| Founder | Donnubán mac Cathail |
| Final sovereign | Amlaíb Ua Donnubáin Donal II O'Donovan [3] |
| Current head | The O'Donovan |
| Founding | 10th century |
O'Donovan (Irish: Ó Donnabháin [oːˈd̪ˠɔn̪ˠəˌvˠɑːnʲ]) or Donovan is an Irish surname, as well as a hereditary Gaelic title. It is also written Dhonnabháin in certain grammatical contexts, and Donndubháin, being originally composed of the elements donn, meaning lord or dark brown, dubh, meaning dark or black, and the diminutive suffix án. Ó derives from the earlier Ua, meaning grandson or descendant. Compare O'Donoghue and O'Sullivan, containing the same elements.
The O'Donovans are in origin descendants of the 10th century Donnubán mac Cathail, ruler of the regional or sub-provincial kingdom of Uí Fidgenti, as well as of his royal Norse relations from Limerick and probably also Waterford. From his accession to the kingship in 962 to the death of Amlaíb Ua Donnubáin in 1201, the family operated as a semi-independent to sometimes fully independent regional royal house within the larger provincial overkingdom of Munster. In the 13th century the O'Donovans surrendered principal sovereignty to the Kingdom of Desmond and later Carbery, after playing a role in the formation of the latter principality. However, the leading dynasts of the family remained semi-sovereign princes or flatha underneath the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty in Carbery, or perhaps even local petty kings.[4] Nearly five centuries later and eighty years after the fall of the Gaelic order, the O'Donovans were one of the few families of Carbery and Munster still allowed by the authorities to be of royal extraction.[5] Today the head of the family is still counted among the leading Gaelic nobility of Ireland.
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A royal race in Munster, the O'Donovans became Cairbre Eva (or Uí Chairpre, see map) princes of the ancient regional kingdom of the Uí Fidgenti, once approximately co-extensive with the modern County Limerick,[6] and were for many centuries allies of the Eóganachta, to whom they may be related by common descent from Ailill Flann Bec (or Ailill Aulom), or possibly by marriage, or both. Although allowed to be princely in multiple ancient sources,[7] in the Irish class structure the dynasts of the Uí Fidgenti were only middle tier among the high nobility of the nation, as they never contested for the overlordship of the greater provincial kingdom of Munster, to which they belonged. The Eóganachta were its overkings until 978, and then again for a period in the 12th century. But by a peculiar custom the Uí Fidgenti were also not regarded as "vassals" and did not pay rent, the result of an ancient military alliance with the early Eóganachta kings of Cashel, probably their distant kinsmen. This bound them to support the Eóganachta on hostings outside the province and in the defense of Munster,[8] which they did to the best of their ability.
Their extensive territory followed Limerick's River Maigue, before the Dál gCais and O'Brien dynasty, and later the FitzGerald dynasty, forced them out of their territory between the late 12th and mid-13th century. At first they would wander into County Kerry, but soon after appear in Carbery in the later County Cork, where they would finally become vassals, in the more traditional sense, of the newly founded MacCarthy Reagh dynasty. The O'Donovans appear to have been joined in Carbery by a junior sept of their Ó Coileáin kinsmen from Uí Chonaill Gabra.
Later, the title Prince of Carbery (Cairbre) would be adopted by the MacCarthy Reaghs, although it is debated whether this is actually derived from the former name of the O'Donovans, and if so then what circumstances extended it well beyond the new territories belonging to the O'Donovans. In any case they were much favoured by the MacCarthy Reaghs, from whom they received the White Wand. The leading family of the O'Donovans, Clann Cathail, paid to their overlords a surprisingly small, economically insignificant rent, but the precise reason for this is lost to history.[9] Possibly earlier times were recalled, or it may be due to the special relationship they developed with Fíngin Reanna Róin Mac Carthaig (see below).
From their association with the far more famous Ivar of Limerick and his family, the O'Donovans are probably descended from the Norse Uí Ímair, through a daughter of the Limerick king or possibly his son Óláf (Amlaíb), married to the family's eponymous founder, Donnubán mac Cathail, King of Uí Fidgenti. In fact for a number of generations after this the ethnicity of the early O'Donovans has been debated on occasion, the extent of intermarriage with the Norse believed to have been very considerable. It is also possible that a previous king of Limerick, Amlaíb Cenncairech or "Sinful Head", was Donnubán's maternal grandfather.
Donndubhán mac Cathail is a major figure and opponent of Mathgamain mac Cennétig and his brother Brian Bóruma in the Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib. He was in part responsible for the death of Mathgamain, and may or may not have been slain by Brian for it, together with his brother-in-law Harald Ivarsson (Aralt mac Ímair), newly elected King of the Foreigners of Munster, by Brian in or around the year 978 in the Battle of Cathair Cuan. However, Donnubán's son Cathal mac Donnubáin was later in 1014 probably one of the Munster kings supporting Brian in the Battle of Clontarf.
Another figure was Donndubán mac Ímair (Ivarsson) of Waterford, a son of Ivar of Waterford, presumably by a daughter of Donndubán mac Cathail. Mentioned twice in the Annals for his involvement in slayings, he was slain himself in or around the year 996.[10] Because Ivar was apparently a grandson of the great Ragnall ua Ímair, he is arguably the ultimate source for the recurrence of the name Ragnall in the O'Donovan family, alongside Ímar, Amlaíb, and Lochlann.
Finally, Amlaíb Ua Donnubáin, the last known king of Uí Chairpre Áebda, was slain by William de Burgh and the sons of Domnall Mór Ua Briain in the year 1201.[11] Olaf is almost certainly the last O'Donovan, King of Carbery. The line of Clan Cathail, Clan Aneislis, and Clan Loughlin comes through the contemporary Ragnall Ua Donnubáin, a near relation of Amlaíb. Ragnall's grandson was Crom Ua Donnubáin, the second O'Donovan to be noted in County Cork after Amlaíb. Of the family remaining in County Limerick after the 13th century unfortunately little account is preserved.
Reverend John Begley (see references), of St. Munchin's, gives an account of the Christianization of the Norse of Limerick by the O'Donovans, and their long intermarriage. Mainchín of Limerick is the patron saint of the Diocese of Limerick and Bruree, and he may have been adopted by the Norse of Limerick city from the family. Begley argues that he was, but the O'Briens also claimed him indirectly at some point and obviously have their own supporters.
A medieval topographical poem has the following to say about the O'Donovan lands:[12]
| “ | Dual d O Donnabáin Dhúin Cuirc an tír si, na tír longphuirt; fa leis gan cíos fon Maigh moill, is na cláir síos co Sionoinn. Hereditary to O Donnabhain of Dun Cuirc |
” |
The longphorts were the Viking ship fortresses and later settlements, although the term soon enough came to mean simply encampment. However, the original meaning remained in usage and in the 10th century there were at least two Norse longphuirt, extensions of Limerick, which were deep in Uí Chairpre controlled territory.[13]
Many Irish families intermarried with the Scandinavians, but it was a question of degree and sometimes necessity. In their case the O'Donovans simply took a particularly large dose, and undoubtedly it was a mix of both Norwegian and Dane. Nearly all of the long history of the Norse in Munster has been lost, although those living in Uí Chairpre are not known to have left, being last noted in Donnubán's company in 978.[14] The later advent of the Norman invasion of Ireland ruined them as a political class. For the fate of the Limerick Norse see History of Limerick. Only the Cotter family of East Cork continue to prosper today in Ireland,[15] but they are not of Limerick provenance.
From the later 16th century Scandinavian names have been very little used by the O'Donovan family, when once they were as popular as the Gaelic. With the Tudor conquest of Ireland pressures changed and the great Uí Ímair became ancient history.
But see the important Ímar Ua Donnubáin.
The O'Donovans are first found associated with the MacCarthys only four years after the death of Amlaíb. The Annals of Inisfallen report that in 1205 [16]
| “ | AI1205.3: Cellachán son of Mac Carthaig, i.e. the son of Cathal Odar, was slain by the mounted horse of Domnall, son of Mac Carthaig, i.e. by the followers of Donnocán and by Ua Donnubáin of Uí Chairpri. | ” |
Later in 1260 the O'Donovans are found raiding Norman lands alongside none other than Fíngin Reanna Róin Mac Carthaig, according to Norman documents. This was one year before his famous victory at the Battle of Callann, where they are also believed to have been at his side.[17] In 1259 he aided them in a fight against the O'Mahonys, who appear to have been blamed for the slaying of Crom Ua Donnubáin.[18]
Up until this period the O'Donovans and O'Mahonys are generally regarded to have been allies and friends, their ancestors Máel Muad mac Brain and Donnubán having joined forces against the Dál gCais in the 10th century.
Following an active 13th century, after their move south the O'Donovans appear to fall into relative obscurity for approximately two centuries, in part because they were the last of the powerful Munster dynasties to fall under the Kingdom of Desmond, some two centuries after the Eóganacht Chaisil, but mainly because the sources for Munster during this period are few. Fragmenting into several smaller-sized lordships, they were undoubtedly protected by the powerful MacCarthys Reagh throughout, of whom they were still the chief vassals. But one Domhnall Ó Donnabháin was Bishop of Ross in the mid-late 15th century, while the first of the family to be mentioned by name in the 16th century, one Donal mac Melaghlin O'Donovan, was killed for piracy, along with his O'Driscoll accomplices, by the lords of the O'Driscolls in 1551.[19] The O'Driscolls were the family with whom the O'Donovans had the most excellent relations after the MacCarthys, which continued to be the case after this incident. Probably older, however, is the long and tumultuous relationship the O'Donovan family have with the O'Sullivans, documented from at least the 13th century, and which has involved an amount of minor warfare as well as intermarriage over the centuries, with both major septs of the O'Sullivan dynasty.
However, despite their relative obscurity for a period the O'Donovans were still counted among the 64 leading Gaelic families in all of Ireland in the mid-16th century Book of Howth list.[20]
As the descendants of Cathal Ua Donnubáin, eldest son of Crom Ua Donnubáin, Clancahill claimed to be the leading family of the O'Donovans, or O'Donovan Mor. But when they reappear in the mid-16th century they are found in a spectacular state of disorder and disrepair, with rival branches assassinating each other and each supported by more distantly related septs. Unfortunately this was common enough in Ireland. But it appears that by a fortuitous marriage to an O'Leary of Carrignacurra and the ardent support of Clan Aneslis that the branch of the celebrated Donal of the Hides were able to set aside their rivals, in the person of Diarmaid an Bhairc ("Dermot of the Bark", meaning born at sea), who were supported by Ire (Ivor) O'Donovan [Ó Donnabháin Íomhair] of the Sliocht Íomhair ("Seed of Ivor"), descendants of the legendary Ímar Ua Donnubáin, younger son of Cathal, and also by the Sliocht Tioboit ("Seed of Toby"), another distinguished sept of Clancahill. In a terrible local conflict occurring in Rosscarbery in 1560, where Diarmaid was being inaugurated with the White Wand by the MacCarthy Reagh, Donal, with Clan Aneslis and a contingent of O'Learys, stormed the town, slaying Diarmaid and a great number of the Sliocht Íomhair at the start, and others of his followers were soon found and slaughtered in the streets of the town. The MacCarthy Reagh, who would have been Cormac na Haoine MacCarthy Reagh, 10th Prince of Carbery, then inaugurated Donal with the White Wand on the spot, declaring him "O'Donovan", after he had just run his kinsman Diarmaid through. Unfortunately what is alleged to have followed was the spread of this massacre to the countryside and the dispossession and almost total annihilation of the ancient Seed of Ivor, whose lands were taken and their castle demolished, after which they appear to have become supernatural. The fine people, lands and castle of Sliocht Tioboit then suffered the same fate.
Ellen O'Leary is believed to have come with a substantial dowry, which significantly improved Donal's fortunes. They were married at Dromale, and their issue was, among other sons, Donal II O'Donovan, who may or may not have been a bastard born before their marriage was solemnised. In any case he succeeded to the chiefship in 1584, and received the White Wand from none other than his new father-in-law, Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery, to whose daughter the Lady Joanna he was now married. This was an immense rise in Clancahill's fortunes, from where they had been less than three decades before, and the O'Donovans, or at least Clancahill, would now become a part of the greater aristocracy again for probably the first time in two centuries. The MacCarthy Reagh was the wealthiest prince in Ireland and the dowry was surely considerable, giving Donal the means to raise a small army and play a notable enough regional role in the Nine Years' War, joining the side of Hugh O'Neill. Previously he was actually married to Helena de Barry, daughter of William Barry of Barryroe, son of James de Barry, 4th Viscount Buttevant, and she was actually mother to his son and heir Donal III O'Donovan, but it is not known in what year she may have died or was possibly divorced.
Donal III proved to be a warlike man and joined the so-called Irish Rebellion of 1641 under Donough MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry, with the result that his lands were later wasted and two of his castles blown up by the Cromwellians. Later in the Irish Confederate Wars he would assist his near neighbour, James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven in the taking of a number of fortifications in County Cork. For all this he was eventually stripped of his estates by Oliver Cromwell in 1652. Donal married Gylles O'Shaughnessy, daughter of Sir Roger Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh, The O'Shaughnessy, and his heir by her was Donal IV O'Donovan.
In 1660 Daniel IV was eventually restored to a small portion of his father's estates by the infamously ungrateful Charles II of England, who gave the rest away to Cromwell's soldiers. In 1689 he joined the Patriot Parliament of James II of England, and in the next year, under Governor Sir Edward Scott, was the Deputy Governor of Charles Fort, Kinsale, when besieged by John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (then 1st Earl). After holding out for ten days, they received guarantees before surrendering, O'Donovan delivered the keys to Marlborough, and they and the 1200 strong garrison were allowed to march out to Limerick. See Siege of Cork.
Daniel IV's last descendant in the male line was Richard II O'Donovan, who does not have the best reputation in the family, for willing the last of the ancient Clancahill estates, Bawnlahan, to the family of his wife, by whom he had no issue. At his death in 1829 the chiefship passed to the recent cadet line in the person of the Reverend Morgan O'Donovan of Montpelier, ancestor of the current O'Donovan. Reverend Morgan was a descendant of Teige O'Donovan, son of Donal II by the Lady Joanna née MacCarthy Reagh.
The grandson of the Reverend Morgan was Morgan William II O'Donovan, who fought in the Second Boer War 1900-1902, and was mentioned is despatches. He was later Colonel of the 4th Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers 1903-1914. His mother was Amelia, daughter of Gerald de Courcy O'Grady, The O'Grady.
Morgan William's son was Morgan John Winthrop O'Donovan, who fought in World War I and was decorated with the Military Cross. He later commanded the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers during World War II. His son is the present O'Donovan.
Morgan Gerald Daniel O'Donovan [21][22] (Murchadh Gearóid Dónal Ó Donnabháin) is The O'Donovan, Chief of his Name and Arms, formerly styled Lord of Clancahill and O'Donovan Mor (all three are equivalent). Born in Pau, France, in 1931, the son of the late Morgan John Winthrop O'Donovan, The O'Donovan, by his wife Cornelia Bagnell (died 1974), he succeeded to the Chiefship in 1969. Educated at Stowe and Trinity College, Cambridge, The O'Donovan resides near Skibbereen, in West Cork. The Chief, now retired, was until recently a member of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland, and has served as Chairman of the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains. He is married to Frances Jane, daughter of the late Sir Gerald Templer, with whom his father served in the Royal Irish Fusiliers. They have issue: a son and tánaiste, Morgan Teige Gerald (born 1961), and two daughters, Katharine Jane (born 1962) and Cecilia Mary Cornelia (born 1966) [married N.G.F. Chamberlain, 1996 and has issue].
Currently, O'Donovan is joined in Munster by O'Donoghue of the Glens, McGillycuddy of the Reeks, O'Callaghan (Tortosa), and of course by the princely Baron Inchiquin, and O'Grady, the last his near cousin. O'Callaghan and O'Donoghue are more distant cousins through the MacCarthys. As a descendant of Gerald Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare through Prince Owen MacCarthy Reagh, his very distant cousins also include the Duke of Leinster and most modern sept chiefs and nobles of the O'Neill dynasty. Furthermore, The Earl Spencer and Princes William and Harry are surprisingly near distant cousins to O'Donovan as they also happen to be descendants of Donal IV, in their case through the 1st Baron Fermoy.[23]
O'Donovan is profiled and interviewed by Ellis, Curley, and Chambers, for which see the list of references below.
Gaelic titles are historically difficult for outsiders to understand, because medieval Ireland recognized no less than three grades of king, in addition to other nobility. From the 10th to the beginning of the 13th century the O'Donovans were titled rí or rig and belonged to the middle grade, either as kings of Uí Fidgenti, a once relatively large regional kingdom, or as kings of Uí Chairpre, itself a smaller but expanding regional kingdom containing at least two local petty kingdoms and a number of other tuatha, as well as additional occupied and conquered territories, stretching into County Tipperary and apparently including the majority of the lands surrounding Norse Limerick, according to the author of the Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib himself.[24] According to the historian William F. T. Butler, Uí Chairpre alone contained six to as many as ten tuatha and Uí Chonaill sixteen more.[25] A king of the middle or regional grade was known as a Ruiri or "over-king", and was of inferior rank only to a Rí ruirech or "king of overkings", generally otherwise known as a provincial king. No O'Donovan ever achieved this last rank, the family having risen in the wrong time and place to be contenders, which might be said for many families.
However, by becoming a feudal lord underneath the MacCarthy Reagh Princes of Carbery, one interpretation is that the O'Donovan effectively dropped this regional but genuine royal status. An alternative interpretation is that the White Wand proves the O'Donovans retained some extremely limited "royal" status and were simply downgraded to small petty kings or local Rí túaithe, an interpretation in modern scholarship. The leading O'Donovans were certainly flatha in either case, however obscure for periods.
These O'Donovans are notable for many accomplishments. A important junior sept, the Donovans of Ballymore, established themselves in County Wexford. Many have distinguished themselves in political office and the military.
The current representative of Clan Loughlin and the Ballymore sept is the scholar Brian Donovan of Trinity College, Dublin, a descendant of Donal Oge na Cartan O'Donovan, Lord of Clan Loughlin (died 1629). He is the CEO and co-founder of the historical research company Eneclann, based at Trinity.[26]
For the entire known male line descent of the O'Donovan septs of Carbery derivation into the time of Elizabeth see Crom Ua Donnubáin. Unfortunately this is not very extensive. For the synthesized pedigrees themselves, see O'Donovan,[27] O'Hart, Cronnelly, and also Todd, all in the list of references below. Each used the late medieval and early modern originals available to them. Burke is useful for the later lines.
The O'Donovans, or some of them, are periodically accused of in some manner either being a sept of the Uí Ímair (House of Ivar) themselves or at least incorporating one. A variant even appeared in the Encyclopædia Britannica for a few decades, namely that some O'Donovans are actually male line descendants of the son of Ivar of Waterford mentioned above,[28] so this has been no small rumour. But there is no secret, because although agreed upon by scholars to have been quite prominent during the second half of the 10th century and first two centuries of the second millennium, the family are poorly documented during this period, that is outside the major epic political tracts Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib and Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil,[29] because the sources as they have come down to us are very fragmentary. The annals are full of gaps, and like the Uí Ímair themselves the O'Donovans were not the best record keepers and had no control over the writing of their history, which was influenced by usually hostile families. So the answer is no one knows. The Norse dynasty repeatedly used six names throughout their history [30] and of these the O'Donovans were fond of no less than three, namely Ragnall, Amlaíb, and Ímar itself (the remaining three, Sitric, Gofraid, and Aralt, are unattested). Two of these even became sept names which were still known as late as the 17th century. The historical Sliocht Íomhair, who were undoubtedly considered O'Donovans, cannot even be attached to the main line with complete confidence. Furthermore Ragnall, the very favourite, and once as common or more in the family as any Gaelic name, was also the favourite name of the royal family of Waterford. So intermarriage is a 100% certainty even if the sources are few. The Scoto-Irish Clann Somhairle, today represented mainly by the Clan Donald, are also widely regarded to be at least maternal descendants of the Uí Ímair, even their successors in the Isles.[31] They are fond to this day of two out of six, namely Ragnall and Gofraid.
A neglected connection with another family must be mentioned. One or two important tales may be suggestive of association with one or another of the southern septs of the great De Burgh dynasty, beginning in the second half of the 13th or first half of the 14th century. Their ancestor William de Burgh was of course the leader of the expedition resulting in the death of Amlaíb in 1201, but the Burkes soon enough became very Gaelicized and integrated into Irish society, sprouting numerous septs throughout the provinces. Some members of one of these from County Limerick may actually have settled in O'Donovan territory, on lands granted them within his own by Ímar Ua Donnubáin, according to a legend recorded by Edith Anna Somerville.[32]
Between them Clancahill and Clan Loughlin controlled the entire harbour of Glandore, the former on the west side and the latter on the east, although before the 1560s the Clancahill portion appears to have been controlled by the Sliocht Íomhair. Clan Loughlin were seated at Cloghatradbally, now called Glandore Castle, a 13th century Norman castle built by the Barretts, from whom they took it. This is the sacred harbour of Clíodhna.
Clancahill came to control half of Castlehaven harbour as well, the ancient O'Driscolls of Corcu Loígde in control of the other. From the ocean the territory of the O'Donovans then stretched north and northwest into the area of Drimoleague, with the well known Castle Donovan found in a valley not far from that village. This, up in the mountains, in a remote area, was the principal seat of the Clancahill main line until the early 17th century.
At what was probably their height in Carbery, between the late 16th century and their partial dispossession following the so-called Irish rebellion of 1641 and the Irish Confederate Wars in the mid 17th, the O'Donovans were in control of approximately 100,000 acres right in the center of the principality, with territories both in West and East Carbery. Of this, however, only around 15,000 acres were usable as farmland. In the remaining they were still owed rents and had the rights to hold court(s), fairs, and so on. From the several harbours and bays they controlled actually came their chief income, which was the case for lords all along the South Munster coast. Following the Cromwellian confiscations, the infamously ungrateful Charles II of England, after first giving his deceitful word he would restore them entirely, granted the vast majority to soldiers of Cromwell's army in lieu of pay. The O'Donovans would regain possession of less than one twentieth their former territories, a few thousand acres... although this was better than many Gaelic families did. The great MacCarthys Reagh lost virtually everything, receiving not enough back to even live on respectably, a few hundred acres out of the approaching 600 square miles (1,600 km2) they once controlled at their height (this included the O'Donovan territories, which were at one time probably much less than 100,000 acres), so they eventually left.
Clanlouglin lost their estates twice, first the majority of the fairly immense Manor of Glandore in the 1650s to Cromwell and his soldiers, and then the Manor of the Leap, a descendant of the remains of the former, in 1737, when one of their dynasts, Jeremiah II O'Donovan, sold it without consulting his family.
All of the known lands of the Clan Aineislis were confiscated and given away by Cromwell, after which the sept fall into obscurity.
In 1878 various branches of the O'Donovan family were reported successful (landed) and in possession of 17,213 acres of estates in several counties in southern Ireland,[33] not counting estates and homesteads of less than 500 acres, and the loss of the Manor of Bawnlahan in 1829, which added would have substantially increased the total. By this time some had established themselves in England as well and were prospering, not to mention around the world.
To date, fairly few O'Donovans have been tested, but it is expected that in the future the relationships between the various alleged Eóganachta septs will be better understood. It may or may not be possible to separate the Eóganachta from the more ancient Érainn. There appears to be a South Irish R1b cluster which is clearly distinct from the Irish Type III of the Dál gCais to the immediate north, but this is all that is clear so far.
One of Ireland's most celebrated historians was John O'Donovan, who claimed descent from a supposed son, Edmond, of Donal II O'Donovan. He published an Irish Grammar and translated and edited the first complete edition of the Annals of the Four Masters, and is often regarded as the greatest Irish scholar of the 19th century. The enormous amount of knowledge collected by John O'Donovan in the Irish countryside is still frequently relied upon for research, for example the recent title on Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland by Elizabeth FitzPatrick.
A son of John O'Donovan was the war-correspondent Edmund O'Donovan, famous for his journey to Merv.
According to relatives, the great William Joseph Donovan, whose grandfather Timothy O'Donovan was from Skibbereen, had traced his ancestry back to medieval times. But whatever genealogy there might have been is now lost, if so,[34] and his sept may or may not ever be known. Wild Bill Donovan was the most decorated American soldier of World War I,[35] and later headed the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II. He is known as the "Father of American Intelligence" and the "Father of Central Intelligence."[36][37]
William Joseph Donovan was a Knight of Malta and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester, the only American ever to be made the second.
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, the prominent Fenian leader and writer, was most likely a descendant of the Clan Aineislis or MacEnesles O'Donovans, as discovered by himself and John O'Donovan.[38] His descendants still live in both Rosscarbery and Staten Island, New York City.
See Notable people surnamed O'Donovan.
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