[2] O'Donovan began his broadcasting career with Cork radio station Red FM in 2002.
Over the next ten years he held various positions including news reporter, finance correspondent and documentary maker.
Since then, he has reported on major international news stories including the aftermath of the 2016 Nice truck attack, the plight of Syrians in refugee camps near the Jordanian-Syrian border, the verdict of the Molly Martens Corbett trial in North Carolina, and on the Catalan independence protests in Spain.
[4] On 8 December 2021, it was announced that he would succeed Ingrid Miley as RTÉ's new Work and Technology correspondent in February 2022.
[5] O'Donovan studied Communications at Dublin City University (DCU),[2] and following college he taught English in China.