Harry O'Donovan

Harry O'Donovan (c. 1896 – 3 November 1973) was an Irish comedy scriptwriter, stage manager and actor.

Life He was born in Dublin, Ireland and was apprenticed to a painter. In his spare time, he took part in amateur dramatics, finally joining a troupe of actors and touring Ireland for several years. In 1924 he got to know Jimmy O'Dea in a production of You Never Can Tell at the Abbey Theatre. It is described as O'Dea's most famous role as they recorded and released many famous gramophone records of Biddy Mulligan. This character is also referenced in songs that were written by O'Donovan like Daffodil Mulligan and The Charladies' Ball but most noticeably in the song Biddy Mulligan the pride of the Coombe that was written by songwriter Seamus Kavanagh who collaborated with O'Donovan to write it.

Their success has been attributed to how they complimented each other and neither was successful without the other, resulting in a partnership that lasted for 30 years.

O'Donovan played a key role in the Irish dramatic movement as he introduced Irish music hall traditions into Irish theatres, similar to the English music hall comedians who visited Ireland in the 1930s, and this new style replaced the traditional serious Irish dramas present in theatres during that time. He is one of the names that made modern Irish drama what it is today. Blarney (1938), director Penny Paradise (1938), music and lyrics