Roots: The Donovan Clan

The Donovan Clan

Sculptor William O’Donovan (1844-1920) is known for his monuments and busts of notable Americans. After serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Donovan moved to New York City and opened a studio where he began sculpting memorial pieces. His most famous sculptures include Lincoln and Grant in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, Irish-born Archbishop Hughes at Fordham University and a bust of Walt Whitman.

In the literary world, Michael Francis O’Connor O’Donovan, better known as Frank O’Connor (1903-1966), wrote over 150 works, including short stories, essays, poetry and novels. Raised in County Cork, many of his stories were based on his own life experiences, especially of the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. O’Connor served in the IRA during this time and was interned from 1922-1923 as part of the 12,000 combatants who were opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Largely raised by his mother, O’Connor used her maiden name as a pen name, reflecting on his tumultuous childhood and strained relationship with his father in many of his stories. Neil Jordan’s film The Crying Game is based on O’Connor’s short story “Guests of the Nation.”

Major General William Joseph Donovan (1883-1959), nicknamed “Wild Bill,” was an American soldier during World War I and II and was head of the Office of Strategic Services, a wartime intelligence agency. He is known as the “Father of Central Intelligence” for his role in creating the CIA, which he suggested as a centralized, peacetime American intelligence organization.

In sports, Landon Donovan (1982- ) is a soccer player for Los Angeles Galaxy and most recently played on the U.S. team for the 2010 World Cup. He played in all four games, and scored goals against Slovenia, Algeria and Ghana. Donovan is the all-time leader in scoring and assists for the United States national team. At 28, he has won every title and honor possible in American Major League soccer, helping to bring the U.S. team to international prominence at the World Cup.

Anne Donovan (1961- ), the first and only female coach to win a WNBA title, began her career as a decorated college basketball player at Old Dominion University. With 801 blocked shots over her career, she holds the NCAA record. Donovan went on to win two gold medals in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games for the U.S. women’s basketball team. Upon her retirement she began coaching and won a national championship with Seattle Storm in 1995. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.

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