Born: July 16th, 1944
Died: February 18th, 2025
Dr James Donovan, the former director of Forensic Science Ireland, the national forensic sciences service, has died following a short illness. The senior public servant established the State’s first forensic science laboratory and continued to work in that organisation through its various evolutions until his retirement in 2002.
Dr Donovan provided evidence for several high-profile cases throughout his career. One of the most significant was when he was the key witness in the trial of the Provisional IRA killers of Lord Louis Mountbatten and three other people including a 15-year-old boy. They were killed when the boat they were in was blown up in Sligo in 1979.
Dr Donovan was flown to Sligo and, during a postmortem, he detected layers of green paint from the boat on the bodies. It was similar to flakes of green paint later found on suspects, which became the key evidence in the trial.
In 1982, Dr Donovan suffered life-changing injuries following an attempted car-bomb assassination on him organised by the criminal Martin Cahill, also known as “The General". At that time, Cahill was facing armed robbery charges backed up by forensic evidence from Dr Donovan. The bomb had been planted under Dr Donovan’s car before he drove to work from his home in Tallaght to Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park.
A team of surgeons operated on him for several hours to save his legs, which were threatened with amputation. One foot was partially rebuilt with steel pins and skin grafts, and he used crutches for the rest of life.
The blast also severed nerves in his right hand and fragments of the explosion damaged his sight. The wounds never fully healed and Dr Donovan experienced constant pain, for which he was treated with heavy medication for the rest of his life. He also required subsequent procedures and remained grateful for the excellent care he received from medical professionals throughout his life. He had a driver/bodyguard during the rest of his career.
Describing him as a “groundbreaking director of Forensic Science Ireland”, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said he was a “great servant of the State”.
“Through a very dark time in our country’s history, his scientific work and fearless evidence was crucial to the prosecution of some of the most notorious criminals of the day. He was at the forefront of establishing forensic science as a key part of crime investigation in this country,” said O’Callaghan.
At his funeral, his sister Carmel said her brother was “an unsung hero who gave his life to protect the people of Ireland”. And she praised his determination to return to work following the attempted assassination. “He told me, ‘If I don’t go back to work, they will have won and I won’t allow that,’” she said. Earlier in his career, he had escaped another car bomb, which blew up when he wasn’t in the car.
Described by colleagues as the founding father of forensic science in Ireland, Dr Donovan first worked in the State laboratory in Merrion Street, Dublin, in the early 1970s. He was then hired as a forensic scientist to start the State forensic science laboratory, based initially in the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards in Glasnevin before moving to the Garda Technical Bureau at Garda Headquarters in 1979.
Over the years, Dr Donovan cultivated close relationships with senior members of the Garda and senior civil servants in the Department of Justice to advance the role of forensic science in criminal investigations, improve facilities for forensic scientists and recruit more staff.
“In the early years of the laboratory, he was the only scientist who gave evidence in all the major cases, which was why he became a target. Nowadays, sensitive cases are spread out between different scientists,” said Dr Tom Hannigan, former deputy director of Forensic Science Ireland, who worked closely with Dr Donovan.
Colleagues and friends described him as an articulate and respectful man with an understated sense of humour. Having played the piano and piano accordion as a young person, he could be persuaded to sing the popular Cork anthem The Banks of the Lee at public events. He received the Cork Lord Mayor’s award for bravery in 2008.
Always aware that the public’s knowledge of forensic science needed to be advanced, he made special efforts to speak to third-level students in Irish universities.
He was also proud that Ireland became a founding member of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes in 1995 during his time as director. Through that network and the International Association of Forensic Sciences, he shared his vast knowledge and expertise with colleagues throughout Europe.
The eldest of three children of Michael and Eileen Donovan, James Donovan was born in Oxford. When he was two, his parents moved back to Cork city, where James grew up. He attended the North Monastery primary and secondary school on North Monastery Road, Cork city. He completed an honours degree in chemistry at University College Cork (UCC), staying on to do his PhD in organic chemistry. He met his wife-to-be, Mary Cashman, while studying at UCC and the couple married in 1972. His first job was as a food quality controller for Erin Foods.
Dr Donovan’s interest in public speaking led to him being a long-standing member of the Hellfire Club of Toastmasters International. And in the year before his retirement, he put together Cracking Crime: Jim Donovan, Forensic Detective with writer Niamh O’Connor (O’Brien Press, 2001). A first-hand account of his career, the book examines the history of forensic science from the analysis of dust to criminal profiling. It also includes some of the most notable cases of crimes solved by the use of forensics, including the abduction and murder of Mary Duffy – where teeth indentation on a wad of toilet roll helped identify her body – and the triple murder of Imelda Riney, her son Liam and Fr Joseph Walsh in Co Clare in 1994.
Dr Donovan maintained his interest in forensics later in life and the current generation of forensic scientists continued to learn from his expertise. He attended the opening of the new forensic science laboratory in Celbridge, Co Kildare in 2024. “Jim was a regular visitor to Garda Headquarters and he will be sorely missed by all in An Garda Siochána – both serving and retired,” said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
James Donovan is survived by his wife, Mary, his twin sisters, Helen and Carmel, nieces, nephews and extended family.
