O’DONOVAN, Jeremiah. A History of Ireland, containing a Compendious Account of her Woes, Afflictions and Suffering, with a direct reference to her Political Renovation, from the Commencement of the Reign of Roderick O’Connor, her last Monarch, down to the termination of the ever memorable Battle of the Boyne, In Epic Verse.

First Number; A History of Ireland, containing A Compendious Account of her Woes, Afflictions and Suffering, with a direct reference to her Political Renovation, from the termination of the Battle of the Boyne to the present date. In Epic Verse. Pittsburgh, January 1st, 1853. Second Number. Two volumes in one. Pittsburgh: Published by the Author, 1854. Small octavo. pp. 177, [3], 132. Green cloth, lettered in gilt. Original printed wrappers bound in. Some light foxing to prelims, internally clean, text generally crisp. A very good copy.
No printed copy located on JISC.
A scarce Irish-American production, this curious and ambitious work presents the history of Ireland in epic verse, tracing a nationalist narrative from the mythical High Kings through to the decisive events of the Williamite Wars. The first part concludes with the Battle of the Boyne, while the second continues the narrative into the modern (mid-19th century) period, reflecting the political consciousness of the Irish diaspora in America in the aftermath of the Great Famine.
Printed in Pittsburgh and self-published, the work belongs to a distinctive body of Irish emigrant literature, combining patriotic historiography with poetic form. Its tone suggests a readership among Irish immigrants seeking cultural continuity and political identity in the United States.
The survival of both “numbers” (parts) bound together, as here, is uncommon; many copies appear to have circulated separately.
Jeremiah O’Donovan remains an obscure figure. He was likely part of the Irish immigrant community in mid-19th century America, probably arriving in the aftermath of the Great Famine (1845-52). His choice of Pittsburgh as a publishing base aligns with known Irish settlement patterns in industrial Pennsylvania.

[CAT 164]