James O'Donovan ( ga, Séamus Ó Donnabháin; 3 November 1896 in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

– 4 June 1979 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

), also known as Seamus or Jim O'Donovan, was a leading

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

in the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

(IRA) and Agent in Ireland for the Abwehr. He fought in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

and then on the Anti-Treaty side during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

serving as the IRA Director of Munitions and chemicals. O'Donovan is best known for his contacts with the

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

military intelligence of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Biography

Irish Republican Army

A native of

, O'Donovan was educated at

St Aloysius' College, Glasgow St Aloysius' College is a selective fee-paying, independent, Jesuit day school in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1859 by the Jesuits, who previously staffed the college, and named after Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Its strong Jesuit ethos emp ...

and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

where he earned a Master of Science degree in Chemistry. O'Donovan was an explosives expert and reputedly invented the "Irish War Flour" (named after the flour sacks in which it was smuggled into Dublin aboard ships) and "Irish Cheddar" devices. He subsequently became IRA Director of Chemicals in 1921. During the

he was imprisoned in Mountjoy and Kilmainham prisons and later interned in Newbridge,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

. O'Donovan escaped from Newbridge jail on 14 October 1922 was recaptured on 15 March 1923 and imprisoned until 17 July 1924. He opposed the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

and was a member of the anti-treaty IRA Executive formed in 1922. During the Irish Civil War O'Donovan fought on the Anti-Treaty IRA side. In 1930, he became a manager at ESB headquarters in Dublin. In August 1938, at the request of

IRA chief of staff Several people are reported to have served as Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army () in the organisations bearing that name. Due to the clandestine nature of these organisations, this list is not definitive. Chiefs of Staff of the Irish ...

Seán Russell Seán Russell (13 October 1893 – 14 August 1940) was an Irish republican who participated in the Easter Rising of 1916, held senior positions in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War, and was Chief o ...

, he wrote the

S-Plan The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1940, conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). ...

, a sabotage/bombing campaign targeting

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. During this time O'Donovan and Russell were the only GHQ members of the old IRA still in the organisation. In his unpublished memoirs he wrote that he "conducted the entire training of cadre units, was responsible for all but locally-derived intelligence, carried out small pieces of research and, in general, controlled the whole explosives and munitions end" of S-Plan.

Involvement with Abwehr and Internment

As "Agent V-Held", he visited Germany three times in 1939 on behalf of the IRA. On 28 February, he negotiated an arms and radio equipment delivery at the Abwehrstelle in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. On 26 April he concluded a new arms deal with the Abwehrstelle and established, with the help of a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

, a secret courier connection to Ireland via France. On 23 August, O'Donovan received the last instructions for the event of war. On 9 February 1940,

II agent Ernst Weber-Drohl landed at

Killala Bay Killala Bay ( ga, Cuan Chill Ala) is a bay on the west coast of Ireland between County Mayo and County Sligo. It is situated between Kilcummin Head to the west and Lenadoon Point to the east. and is the estuary for the River Moy. The village ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

aboard ''U-37''. He was equipped with a 'Ufa' transmitter, cash, and instructions for O'Donovan (who by this time was the chief IRA contact for Abwehr I/II). The transmitter was lost upon landing, but when Weber-Drohl reached O'Donovan at Shankill,

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, he was able to deliver new transmission codes, $14,450 in cash, and a message from ''"Pfalzgraf Section"'' asking that the IRA concentrate its S-Plan attacks on military rather than civilian targets. O'Donovan became increasingly enamoured of

Nazi ideology Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

during this time, and visited Germany three times. In 1942, he wrote an article arguing that Ireland's future lay in an alliance with a victorious Germany and attacked Britain and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for being "centres of

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, international financial control and Jewry". Long after the pact with the Germans fell apart, O'Donovan continued to express his sympathy for the Nazi regime. His son, Gerard O'Donovan, recalled that every Saturday night a visitor would come to the family home and send messages to Germany. In 1940, he was involved in setting up

Córas na Poblachta Córas na Poblachta (; en, Republican System) was a minor Irish republican political party founded in 1940. Origins The idea for a new party was discussed at a meeting in Dublin on 21 February 1940 attended by 104 former officers of the pro ...

, a short-lived fringe political party formed in 1941 by IRA members opposed to what they saw as "de Valera's collaboration with Britain". During

The Emergency (Ireland) The Emergency ( ga, Ré na Práinne / An Éigeandáil) was a state of emergency in Ireland in the Second World War, throughout which Ireland remained neutral. It was proclaimed by Dáil Éireann on 2 September 1939, allowing the passage of the E ...

O'Donovan was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

under the

Emergency Powers Act 1939 The Emergency Powers Act 1939 (EPA) was an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) enacted on 3 September 1939, after an official state of emergency had been declared on 2 September 1939 in response to the outbreak of the Second World War. The ...

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel ...

(between October 1941 and September 1943).

Death

O'Donovan died in Dublin on 4 June 1979, aged 82. Kirby, pg 195

References

Bibliography

External links

New evidence on IRA/Nazi links
at

History Ireland ''History Ireland'' is a magazine with a focus on the history of Ireland. The first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1993. It went full-colour in 2004 and since 2005 it is published bi-monthly. It features articles by a range of writers ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonovan, Seamus Irish fascists Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) People from County Roscommon 1896 births 1979 deaths IRA collaborators with Nazi Germany Irish republicans