James O'Donovan (; 3 November 1896 – 4 June 1979), also known as Seamus or Jim O'Donovan, was a leading

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

in the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

(IRA) and agent in Ireland for the

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

. He fought in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

and then on the

Anti-Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

side during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 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 Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

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

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Biography

Irish Republican Army

A native of

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, O'Donovan was educated at

St Aloysius' College, Glasgow St Aloysius' College is a Public school (UK), selective fee-paying, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Society of Jesus, Jesuit day school in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1859 by the Jesuits, who previously staffed the coll ...

and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

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 () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, 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 gove ...

. 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 (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

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 Irelands Electricity Supply Board ( ESB) headquarters in Dublin. In August 1938, at the request of

IRA chief of staff Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name * Ira (surname), a rare Estonian family name; occurs in some other languages *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law and finance *Indian Reorganization Act of 19 ...

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 ...

, 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The S-Plan campaign carried out approximately 300 explosions/acts of sabotage, caused 10 deaths and 96 injuries in England. During this time O'Donovan and Russell were the only General Headquarters 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 Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. 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 **Gale ...

, 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 () is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Mayo and County Sligo, with Kilcummin Head to the west and Lenadoon Point to the east, which is the estuary for the River Moy. The village of Killala is at the southwest corne ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

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 coastal suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. It lies south of Dalkey, east and northeast of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill, in the local government area of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown within ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, 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 (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was freque ...

during this time, and visited Germany three times. In 1942, O'Donovan 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for being "centres of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, international financial control and

Jewry Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

". 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 (; ) 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- and anti-Treaty wing ...

, 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 () was a state of emergency in the independent state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the Second World War, throughout which Irish neutrality during World War II, the state remained neutral. It was proclaimed by Dáil Éireann on ...

O'Donovan was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

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 World War II. The Act empo ...

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

(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 1896 births 1979 deaths Antisemitism in Ireland Irish fascists Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Scientists from County Roscommon IRA collaborators with Nazi Germany Irish republicans Irish prisoners and detainees Alumni of University College Dublin People educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow People detained under the Emergency Powers Act