O'Donovan first played hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the Effin club.
[1] O'Donovan eventually progressed to the Effin adult team and won a Limerick IHC medal in his debut season in 2021.
[4][5] O'Donovan immediately joined the under-20 team, however, a series of injuries impacted on his progress.
He was at left corner-forward when Kilkenny beat Limerick in the 2022 All-Ireland under-20 final.
[7] After being added to the Limerick senior hurling team pre-season training panel, O'Donovan made his Munster Hurling Cup debut in a defeat of Kerry in 2022.