Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Morgan John Winthrop O'Donovan, The O'Donovan, MC (2 May 1893 – 28 April 1969) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who held the position of O'Donovan of Clan Cahill from 1940 to his death in 1969. He was the son of Morgan William II O'Donovan and Mary Eleanor Barton, and was a descendant in the male line from

Donal II O'Donovan Donal II O'Donovan ( ga, Domhnall Ó Donnabháin), The O'Donovan of Clann Cathail, Lord of Clancahill (died 1639), was the son of Ellen O'Leary, daughter of O'Leary of Inchigeelagh, Carrignacurra, and Donal of the Skins, The O'Donovan of Clann Ca ...

, The O'Donovan of Clancahill, who was the last chief of his sept inaugurated in the ancient

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

manner, with the

White Rod White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, by his father-in-law

MacCarthy Reagh The Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach (anglicised ''MacCarthy Reagh'') dynasty are a branch of the MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the Eóganacht Chaisil sept. History The Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach seated themselves as kings of Carbery in ...

, Prince of

Carbery Carbery or Carbury may refer to: ;People: * Brian Carbury (1918–1961), New Zealand fighter ace * Douglas Carbery (1894–1959), British soldier and airman * Ethna Carbery (1864–1902), Irish writer * James Joseph Carbery (1823–1887), Irish ...

, circa 1584.

Career

O'Donovan attended Marlborough College and then the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, being commissioned in 1913. He fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and in 1917 was decorated with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. Between 1919 and 1920 he fought in the Iraq Campaign and was mentioned in despatches. From 1937 to 1940 O'Donovan commanded the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, which served in Palestine during the

Arab revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...

. He later fought in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and commanded the 125th Infantry Brigade, part of the

42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division The 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force (TF), originally as the East Lancashire Division, and was redesignated as the 42nd (Ea ...

. In January 1942 he took command of the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) as it was being converted into

38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade The 38th (Irish) Brigade, is a brigade formation of the British Army that served in the Second World War. It was composed of North Irish line infantry regiments and served with distinction in the Tunisian and Italian Campaigns. Following the ...

.Joslen, p. 373. He retired in 1944 with the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

. O'Donovan was then with the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

and Order of St. John in 1945.

Marriage and issue

O'Donovan married Cornelia Bagnell, daughter of William Henry Bagnell and Florence May Burrowes, and they had issue: * Katharine Mary O'Donovan * Morgan Gerald Daniel O'Donovan married Frances Jane, daughter of his father's old friend from the Royal Irish Fusiliers, Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer

Notes

References

* Burke, Bernard, and Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, ''Burke's Irish Family Records''. London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. 5th edition, 1976. * Butler, W. F. T., "The Barony of Carbery", in
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume X, Second Series
'. 1904. pp. 1–10, 73–84. *

Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet PC (25 March 1650 – 3 May 1733) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland from 1701 to 1703, Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1703 to 1707 and as Lord Chief Justice ...

, ''Carberiae Notitia''. 1686. extracts published in
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume XII, Second Series
'. 1906. pp. 142–9 * Curley, Walter J.P., ''Vanishing Kingdoms: The Irish Chiefs and their Families''. Dublin: Lilliput Press. 2004. * O'Donovan, John (ed. & tr.), '' Annala Rioghachta Eireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, from the Earliest Period to the Year 1616''. 7 vols. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. 1848–51. 2nd edition, 1856
Volume VI
Appendix, Pedigree of O'Donovan, pp. 2430–83. *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonovan, Morgan John 1893 births 1969 deaths Morgan John Irish chiefs of the name Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Irish Fusiliers officers British Army brigadiers of World War II British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine