Mary Josephine Donovan O'Sullivan was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

at Queens College, Galway (now

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

) from 1914 to 1957.

Biography

One of ten children, four of whom survived infancy, Donovan was born at Fair Hill Road in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

on 24 November 1887 and was the daughter of Royal Navy gunner William Donovan and Bridget Hurley, both natives of County Cork. She was educated at the Dominican College, Galway City, before studying modern languages at Queens College Galway. After Donovan received her MA, she studied at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

. In 1914, she was appointed Professor of History at Queens College Galway. In 1915, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

she married Jeremiah O'Sullivan from

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

who was serving in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

at the time. In 1916, Donovan O'Sullivan taught French and German at Queens College, Galway, following the death of Professor Valentine Steinberger after his arrest during the

Easter Uprising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an in ...

. In 1920, Donovan O'Sullivan (as she was now credited) was elected to a Fellowship of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

. Donovan O'Sullivan was editor of the Journal of the

Galway Archaeological and Historical Society The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society was founded on 21 March 1900. It promotes historical preservation, as well as the study of the archaeology and history of the west of Ireland. As of January 2002, the Society had published 53 cons ...

from November 1932 to January 1951. In 1957, Donovan O'Sullivan was one of the first women elected as a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

. Her main contribution to the history of Galway in the late medieval - early modern age was ''Old Galway'', which examined the growth of the town, its culture and politics, its trade and its ruling families,

The Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...

. Most of the first edition of the book was destroyed during

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and was only reprinted in 1959 in

. From early in the 1900s, she was an active member of the local women's

Suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

movement. She was a sister of John Thomas Donovan, late of the Indian Civil Service. Donovan O'Sullivan died on 21 July 1966.

Select bibliography

All the following were published in the Journal of the

* ''The Lay School at Galway in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries'', p. 1-32, Vol. 15, Nos. i & ii * ''Glimpses of the life of Galway merchants and mariners in the early seventeenth century'', pp. 129–140, volume 15, Nos. iii & iv * ''The fortification of Galway in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries'', pp. 1–47, volume 16 (1934–1935), Nos. i & ii, 1-47 * ''Barnabe Googe, Provost-Marshal of Connaught, 1582–1585'', pp. 1–39, volume 18 (1938–1939), Nos. i & ii * ''Note on the St. Nicholas MSS.'', pp. 69–71, volume 18 (1938–1939), Nos. i & ii * ''The use of leisure in old Galway'', pp. 99–120 volume 18(1938–1939), Nos. iii & iv * ''Some documents relating to Galway'', pp. 170–182, volume 18 (1938–1939), Nos. iii & iv * ''The wives of Ulick, 1st Earl of Clanricarde'', pp. 174–183, volume 21 (1944–1945), Nos. iii & iv * ''Italian merchant bankers and the collection of papal revenues in Ireland in the thirteenth century'', pp. 132–163, volume 22, (1946–1947), Nos. iii & iv * ''The Centenary of Galway College'', lecture delivered on 19 November 1949, published in volume 51, 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, Mary Donovan 1887 births 1966 deaths Academics of the University of Galway 20th-century Irish historians Irish women academics People from County Galway 20th-century Irish women writers 20th-century Irish writers Irish suffragists Irish women historians

Biography

Select bibliography

See also

Further reading

References