John O'Donovan (; 25 July 1806 – 10 December 1861), from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb,
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...
, and educated at Hunt's Academy,
Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, was an Irish scholar of the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
.
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 Patrick O'Donovan. He worked for antiquarian
James Hardiman researching state papers and traditional sources at the
Public Records Office. Hardiman had secured O'Donovan a place in
Maynooth College which he turned down. He also taught Irish to
Thomas Larcom
Major-General Sir Thomas Aiskew Larcom, Bart, PC FRS (22 April 1801 – 15 June 1879) was a leading official in the early Irish Ordnance Survey. He later became a poor law commissioner, census commissioner and finally executive head of the ...
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
Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI; ) was the national mapping agency of the Republic of Ireland. It was established on 4 March 2002 as a body corporate. It was the successor to the former Ordnance Survey of Ireland. It and the Ordnance Survey of ...
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
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
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. He is said to have visited every parish in 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, Belfast, and was called to the
Bar in 1847. His work on linguistics was recognised in 1848 by 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 ...
, who awarded him their prestigious
Cunningham Medal.
On the recommendation of
Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...
, he was elected a corresponding member of the
Royal Academy of Prussia 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 Mary Anne Broughton, sister-in-law of
Eugene O'Curry and was the 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 Rossa of 29 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 Reagh of
Castle Donovan 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 Eleanor 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 Correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone.
War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...
(died in
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
) 1882, William 1846, Richard 1846, Henry dead 1850, Henry 1852, Daniel 1856, Morgan Kavanaugh O'C 1859 d.1860. See
Edmund O'Donovan.
Select bibliography
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**No. 41 (10 Apr 1841) pp. 326–28; No.42 (17 Apr 1841) pp. 330–32; No. 46 (15 May 1841) pp. 365–66; No.48 (29 May 1841) pp. 381–84; No.50 (12 June 1841) pp. 396–98; No.51 (19 June 1841) pp. 405–07; No.52 (26 June 1841) pp. 413–15.
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See also
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Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
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James Ussher
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Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
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Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill (; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist, and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ceann Comhairle of D ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonovan, John
1806 births
1861 deaths
Academics of Queen's University Belfast
19th-century Irish historians
Linguists from Ireland
Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery
People from County Kilkenny
Irish scribes
John
Toponymists
People on Irish postage stamps