[1] One of ten children, four of whom survived infancy, Donovan was born at Fair Hill Road in Galway on 24 November 1887 and was the daughter of Royal Navy gunner William Donovan and Bridget Hurley, both natives of County Cork.
In 1915, in Edinburgh she married Jeremiah O'Sullivan from County Tipperary who was serving in the Royal Engineers at the time.
[3] In 1916, Donovan O'Sullivan taught French and German at Queens College, Galway, following the death of Professor Valentine Steinberger after his arrest during the Easter Uprising.
[1] Donovan O'Sullivan was editor of the Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society from November 1932 to January 1951.
She was a sister of John Thomas Donovan, late of the Indian Civil Service.