John O'Donovan (scholar)
Encyclopedia
John O'Donovan from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny
, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford
, was an Irish language
scholar from Ireland
.
researching state papers and traditional sources at the Public Records Office
. He also taught Irish
to Thomas Larcom
for a short period in 1828 and worked for Myles John O'Reilly, a collector of Irish manuscripts.
Following the death of Edward O'Reilly
in August 1830, he was recruited to the Topographical Department of the first Ordnance Survey of Ireland
under George Petrie in October 1830. Apart from a brief period in 1833, he worked steadily for the Survey on place-name researches until 1842, unearthing and preserving many manuscripts. After that date, O'Donovan's work with the Survey tailed off, although he was called upon from time to time to undertake place-name research on a day-to-day basis. He researched maps and manuscripts at many libraries and archives in Ireland and England, with a view to establishing the correct origin of as many of Ireland's 63,000 townland names as possible. His letters to Larcom are regarded as an important record of the ancient lore of Ireland for those counties he documented during his years of travel throughout much of Ireland.
By 1845, O'Donovan was corresponding with the younger scholar William Reeves
, and much of their correspondence to 1860 survives.
O'Donovan became professor of Celtic Languages at Queen's University
, and was called to the Bar
in 1847. On the recommendation of Grimm
, he was elected a corresponding member of the Royal Academy Berlin in 1856.
Never in great health, he died shortly after midnight on 10 December 1861 at his residence, 36 Upper Buckingham Street, Dublin. He was buried on 13 December 1861 in Glasnevin Cemetery
, where his tombstone inscription has slightly wrong dates of both birth and death.
He married a sister-in-law of Eugene O'Curry
and was father of nine children (all but one of whom died without issue). His wife received a small state pension after his death.
of the 29th May, 1856 John O'Donovan gave his lineage as follows:
An interesting feature of John O'Donovan's works is that he found himself unable to resist asserting the claims of the O'Donovan family to ancient glory, in numerous footnotes and appendices. He personalized the history of the family to such an extent as to even dispute (erroneously) the right to succession of the current chiefly line. Thankfully for Irish scholarship, this small, personal failing does not affect the overall quality of O'Donovan's pioneering research.
While it has not been possible to prove the great scholar's descent specifically from the Lords of Clancahill
, and not from another O'Donovan sept, it was nonetheless something in which he stoutly believed, and most have been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. O'Donovan was also undecided and in other notes contended Edmond was a son of Donal II by his first wife Helena de Barry.
Online books
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...
, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
, was an Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
scholar from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Life
He was the fourth son of Edmond O'Donovan and Eleanor Hoberlin of Rochestown. His early career may have been inspired by his uncle Parick O'Donovan. He worked for antiquarian James HardimanJames Hardiman
James Hardiman , also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. The university library now bears his name...
researching state papers and traditional sources at the Public Records Office
National Archives of Ireland
The National Archives of Ireland is the official repository for the state records of the Republic of Ireland. Established by the National Archives Act 1986, it came into existence in 1988, taking over the functions of the State Paper Office and the Public Record Office of Ireland. The National...
. He also taught Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
to Thomas Larcom
Thomas Larcom
Major-General Sir Thomas Aiskew Larcom, 1st Baronet PC FRS was a leading official in the early Irish Ordnance Survey that started in 1824...
for a short period in 1828 and worked for Myles John O'Reilly, a collector of Irish manuscripts.
Following the death of Edward O'Reilly
Edward O'Reilly
Edward O'Reilly was an Irish scholar in the first half of the 19th century.His grandfather was Eoghan O'Reilly of Corstown, County Meath. Edward's father moved to Harold's Cross, Dublin, where he practised as an apothecary. Edward was born on 6 December 1765...
in August 1830, he was recruited to the Topographical Department of the first Ordnance Survey of Ireland
Ordnance Survey Ireland
Ordnance Survey Ireland is the national mapping agency of the Republic of Ireland and, together with the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland , succeeded, after 1922, the Irish operations of the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey. It is part of the Public service of the Republic of Ireland...
under George Petrie in October 1830. Apart from a brief period in 1833, he worked steadily for the Survey on place-name researches until 1842, unearthing and preserving many manuscripts. After that date, O'Donovan's work with the Survey tailed off, although he was called upon from time to time to undertake place-name research on a day-to-day basis. He researched maps and manuscripts at many libraries and archives in Ireland and England, with a view to establishing the correct origin of as many of Ireland's 63,000 townland names as possible. His letters to Larcom are regarded as an important record of the ancient lore of Ireland for those counties he documented during his years of travel throughout much of Ireland.
By 1845, O'Donovan was corresponding with the younger scholar William Reeves
William Reeves (bishop)
William Reeves was an Irish antiquarian and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore from 1886 until his death...
, and much of their correspondence to 1860 survives.
O'Donovan became professor of Celtic Languages at Queen's University
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
, and was called to the Bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
in 1847. On the recommendation of Grimm
Grimm
-Media:* Brothers Grimm , the third album by Australian hip hop singer Drapht-Fiction:* The Brothers Grimm, German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors...
, he was elected a corresponding member of the Royal Academy Berlin in 1856.
Never in great health, he died shortly after midnight on 10 December 1861 at his residence, 36 Upper Buckingham Street, Dublin. He was buried on 13 December 1861 in Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery , officially known as Prospect Cemetery, is the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland with an estimated 1.5 million burials...
, where his tombstone inscription has slightly wrong dates of both birth and death.
He married a sister-in-law of Eugene O'Curry
Eugene O'Curry
-Life:He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and his wife Cáit. Eoghan had spent some time as a travelling pedlar and had developed an interest in Irish folklore and music. Unusually for someone of his background, he appears to have been...
and was father of nine children (all but one of whom died without issue). His wife received a small state pension after his death.
Personal genealogy
In a letter to Jeremiah O'Donovan RossaJeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa , was an Irish Fenian leader and prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. His life as an Irish Fenian is well documented but he is perhaps known best in death for the graveside oration given at his funeral by Pádraig Pearse.-Life in Ireland:He was born at...
of the 29th May, 1856 John O'Donovan gave his lineage as follows:
- From the senior branch of Clann-Cahill, descended from the elder son Donnell II O'Donovan, married Joanna MacCarthy ReaghMacCarthy ReaghThe MacCarthy Reagh dynasty are a branch of the great MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the ancient Eóganachta, of the central Eóganacht Chaisil sept. The MacCarthys Reagh seated themselves as Princes of Carbery in what is now southwestern County Cork in the 13th century...
of Castle DonovanCastle DonovanCastle Donovan or Castledonovan or ODonovan's Castle refer to the remains of an Irish tower house or túrtheach, in a valley near Drimoleague, of medium size which was the so-called "seat" of the Clann Cathail sept of the O'Donovans for a period during the 16th century...
and who died 1638 - Edmond, married Catherine de Burgo, killed 1643.
- Conor, married Rose Kavanagh.
- William, married Mary Oberlin, a Puritan, died 1749.
- Edmond, married to Mary Archdeacon, died 1798.
- Edmond, married Mary Oberlin, died 1817.
- John O'Donovan, L.L.D. married to Mary Ann Broughton, a descendant of Cromwellian settlers.
- Edmond 1840 d. 1842, John 1842, Edmond 1844 later War CorrespondentWar correspondentA war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
died SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
1882, William 1846, Richard 1846, Henry dead 1850, Henry 1852, Daniel 1856, Morgan Kavanaugh O'C 1859 d.1860. See Edmund O'DonovanEdmund O'DonovanEdmund O'Donovan , Irish war-correspondent, was born at Dublin on the 13th of September 1844, the son of John O'Donovan , a well-known Irish archaeologist and topographer...
.
An interesting feature of John O'Donovan's works is that he found himself unable to resist asserting the claims of the O'Donovan family to ancient glory, in numerous footnotes and appendices. He personalized the history of the family to such an extent as to even dispute (erroneously) the right to succession of the current chiefly line. Thankfully for Irish scholarship, this small, personal failing does not affect the overall quality of O'Donovan's pioneering research.
While it has not been possible to prove the great scholar's descent specifically from the Lords of Clancahill
Irish nobility
This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion...
, and not from another O'Donovan sept, it was nonetheless something in which he stoutly believed, and most have been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. O'Donovan was also undecided and in other notes contended Edmond was a son of Donal II by his first wife Helena de Barry.
Legacy
- O'Donovan made a highly significant contribution to Irish history and literature. He and his wife's brother-in-law, Eugene O'Curry, were the greatest Irish scholars of their time. O'Donovan's work in establishing early Irish law texts, genealogies and folklore is still unsurpassed and frequently relied upon in research. (O'Curry and O'Donovan were married to the sisters Anne and Mary Anne Broughton respectively, daughters of John Broughton of Killaderry near Broadford, County ClareCounty Clare-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
.) In 1852, he and O'Curry proposed the Dictionary of the Irish LanguageDictionary of the Irish LanguageDictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials , published by the Royal Irish Academy, is the definitive dictionary of the origins of the Irish language, specifically the Old Irish and Middle Irish stages; the modern language is not included...
, which was eventually produced by the Royal Irish AcademyRoyal Irish AcademyThe Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
, starting in 1913 and finally completed in 1976.
- O'Donovan Road in the Tenters area of Dublin 8The LibertiesThe Liberties of Dublin, Ireland were jurisdictions that existed since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were town lands united to the city, but still preserving their own jurisdiction. The most important of these liberties were the Liberty of St...
is named in his honour.
Works
- A Grammar of the Irish Language (1845) for St. Columba's College, DublinSt. Columba's College, DublinSt Columba's College is a co-educational boarding school founded in 1843 located in Whitechurch, Dublin, Ireland. Among the founders of the college are Edwin Richard W. W. Quin, Lord Adare , the Right Hon. William Monsell , Dr...
- Leabhar na gCeart (The Book of Rights, 1847)
- Translations of the Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four MastersThe Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
(6 volumes 1846-1851) - Translation of the Fragmentary Annals of IrelandFragmentary Annals of IrelandThe Fragmentary Annals of Ireland are a Middle Irish combination of chronicle from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic , king of Osraige and of king of Leinster.The Fragmentary Annals were...
(1860) - Translation of the Martyrology of Donegal: A Calendar of the Saints of Ireland by Mícheál Ó CléirighMícheál Ó CléirighMícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
(1864)
See also
- Peregrine Ó Duibhgeannain
- Lughaidh Ó CléirighLughaidh Ó CléirighLughaidh Ó Cléirigh , sometimes anglicised as Lewey O'Clery, was an Irish Gaelic poet and historian. He is best known today as the author of Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill, a biography of Red Hugh O'Donnell.-Life:...
- Mícheál Ó CléirighMícheál Ó CléirighMícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
- James UssherJames UssherJames Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
- Dubhaltach Mac FhirbhisighDubhaltach Mac FhirbhisighDubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius was an Irish scribe, translator, historian and genealogist...
External links
- letters from Co. Offaly, 1838
- letter from Fermanagh
- letters from Co. Waterford
- Catholic Encyclopaedia
- Irish Roots
Online books