Roy Simon O'Donovan (born 10 August 1985) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for National Premier Leagues Northern NSW side Newcastle Olympic FC.

He played mainly as a wide-right attacking midfielder after joining Cork, but was soon moved up front as a striker, becoming the top goalscorer in the League of Ireland.

[7] He scored in a UEFA Cup win in July 2005 versus Ekranas of Lithuania, City were eventually eliminated by Slavia Prague.

[9] On 21 November it was reported that Wolverhampton Wanderers were interested in signing O'Donovan, but that they were denied permission to speak to him about a move by Cork City.

[12] In July 2007, Fulham agreed a fee with Cork City to sign O'Donovan,[6] however, Roy Keane signed him for Sunderland on 7 August for a League of Ireland record transfer fee of €500,000, with O'Donovan saying, "I had a choice between Fulham and Sunderland but when I spoke to the gaffer [Roy Keane] my mind was made up.

He signed a three-year contract,[14][15] He made his Premier League debut for Sunderland as a 70th-minute substitute in the 2–2 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's on 15 August.

What had been a successful loan spell up to this point took a turn for the worse when[27][28] on 10 March, he was taken to hospital after being taken ill with suspected appendicitis before Blackpool's game against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

He returned to action just a month later on 11 April in Blackpool's 1–0 West Lancashire Derby win over Preston North End at Deepdale.

O'Donovan suffered a fractured metatarsal in an nPower championship game against Barnsley in November 2011 which meant a significant period recovering on the sidelines.

O'Donovan returned to Coventry for the 2012–13 season and made some first team appearances under the new management of Mark Robins,[33] but mutually agreed to terminate his contract on 31 January 2013.

On 13 May 2013 he played in the 3–0 play-off final defeat to Bradford City FC at Wembley Stadium, he signed a new two-year contract in July 2013 at sixfields and started the season in goal scoring form but injuries curtailed his involvement in the first team after double hernia surgery in October led to a ten-week hiatus.

[40] He won his first pieces of silverware in Asia when picking up the Starhub S.League Cup in July 2014 and was also voted as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Having enjoyed success in Asia the previous season scoring 26 goals in 35 games in the Singapore S.League in all competitions with Brunei DPMM.

He reportedly turned down offers from Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar, Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners.

[48] He was subsequently suspended for 10 games[49] On 24 June 2019, O'Donovan signed a two-year deal with Brisbane Roar after choosing not to re-sign with Newcastle Jets.

[50][51] He scored his first goal for the club in his debut on 13 October 2019, snatching a late draw against Perth Glory in the season opener.

[60] In April 2008 O'Donovan was named in his first senior squad by new manager Giovanni Trapattoni for the upcoming friendly games against Serbia and Colombia.