Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Mary Josephine Donovan O'Sullivan was Professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

of History

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

at Queens College, Galway now National University of Ireland, Galway

National University of Ireland, Galway

The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...

from 1914 to 1957. She was born in Galway

Galway

Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

in 1887 and was educated at the Dominican College, Galway City, Republic of Ireland. In 1915 in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

she married Jeremiah O'Sullivan from Birdhill

Birdhill

Birdhill is a village in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is in the barony of Owney and Arra and is part of the parish of Newport, Bridhill and Toor in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...

County Limerick

It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...

who was serving in the Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

at the time.

Mary Josephine was editor of the Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society

Galway Archaeological and Historical Society

The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society was founded on the 21 March 1900, at the Railway Hotel, Galway. It promotes the study of the archaeology and history of the west of Ireland. Since 1900, the Society has published 60 volumes of the Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical...

from November 1932 to January 1951.

Her main contribution to the history of Galway in the late medieval - early modern age was Old Galway, which examined the growth of the town, its culture and politics, its trade and its ruling families, The Tribes of Galway. Most of the first edition of the book was destroyed during The Blitz

The Blitz

The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and was only reprinted in 1959 in Galway

Galway

.

From early in the 1900s she was an active member of the local women's Suffrage

Suffrage

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...

movement.

She was a sister of John Thomas Donovan

John Thomas Donovan

John Thomas Donovan was born in the Claddagh, Galway, Ireland on the 12 December 1885 he was one of 10 children of William and Bridget Donovan. His sister, Mary Josephine, was appointed professor of History in University college, Galway in 1914....

, late of the Indian Civil Service.

Select bibliography

All the following were published in the Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society

Galway Archaeological and Historical Society

The Lay School at Galway in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, p. 1-32, Vol. 15, Nos. i & ii
Glimpses of the life of Galway merchants and mariners in the early seventeenth century, pp. 129–140, volume 15, Nos. iii & iv
The fortification of Galway in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, pp. 1–47, volume 16 (1934–1935), Nos. i & ii, 1-47
Barnabe Googe, Provost-Marshal of Connaught, 1582–1585, pp. 1–39, volume 18 (1938–1939), Nos. i & ii
Note on the St. Nicholas MSS., pp. 69–71, volume 18 (1938–1939), Nos. i & ii
The use of leisure in old Galway, pp. 99–120 volume 18(1938–1939), Nos. iii & iv
Some documents relating to Galway, pp. 170–182, volume 18 (1938–1939), Nos. iii & iv
The wives of Ulick, 1st Earl of Clanricarde, pp. 174–183, volume 21 (1944–1945), Nos. iii & iv
Italian merchant bankers and the collection of papal revenues in Ireland in the thirteenth century, pp. 132–163, volume 22, (1946–1947), Nos. iii & iv
The Centenary of Galway College, lecture delivered on 19 November 1949, published in volume 51, 1999.

Select bibliography

Further reading