Colman O'Donovan (1927 – 7 April 2025) was an Irish hurler. At club level, he played with

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satelli ...

and Donoughmore, and also lined out at inter-county level with various Cork teams.

Career

O'Donovan first played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

to a high standard as a student at St Colman's College in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

. His performances in the Harty Cup resulted in a call-up to the Cork minor hurling team in 1945. O'Donovan later lined out with the junior team and won an All-Ireland JHC medal in 1950 in spite of not playing in the final against

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 ...

. He later progressed to the senior team and made his only championship appearance at left corner-forward in an All-Ireland semi-final defeat of

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 ...

in 1952. O'Donovan lost his place on the team for the subsequent All-Ireland final, but was presented with a winners' medal after the 2–14 to 0–07 defeat of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Personal life and death

O'Donovan was ordained to the priesthood at St Patrick's College in 1953. His first posting was to

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 ...

. He returned to Ireland in 1954 and spent seven years in Mallow, leaving in 1961 to take up duty in Donoughmore. In 1969, he moved to Glantane where he ministered for 14 years until a move to

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

in 1983. After six years here, O'Donovan was moved to Inniscarra. He retired after celebrating his

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

in 2003. O'Donovan later became vice-president of Midleton GAA Club. O'Donovan died on 7 April 2025, at the age of 97.

Honours

;Cork *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

* All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship:

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

* Munster Junior Hurling Championship:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonovan, Colman 1927 births 2025 deaths Midleton hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers People educated at St Colman's College, Fermoy Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Christian clergy from County Cork 20th-century Irish sportsmen