University During his studies at
Mary Immaculate College, O'Donovan was selected at midfield for the college's senior hurling team during his second year. On 27 February 2016, he won a
Fitzgibbon Cup medal as Mary I won their first ever title after a 1-30 to 3-22 defeat of the
University of Limerick. O'Donovan was at right wing-forward when Mary I retained the title in 2017 following a 3-24 to 1-19 defeat of
Carlow Institute of Technology.
Club O'Donovan joined the
Doon club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, enjoying championship success in under-12, under-14 and under-15 grades. As a member of the club's minor team, he won back-to-back championship medals in 2012 and 2013 following respective defeats of
Patrickswell and
Na Piarsaigh. O'Donovan subsequently made his senior championship debut for the club.
Inter-county Minor and under-21 O'Donovan first played for Limerick at minor level. On 23 July 2013, he was at midfield when Limerick won their first
Munster Championship title in 29 years after a 1-20 to 4-08 defeat of
Waterford. O'Donovan joined the Limerick under-21 hurling team in 2014. In his second season he won a
Munster Championship medal after a 0-22 to 0-19 win over Clare in the final. On 12 September 2015, O'Donovan was at midfield when Limerick defeated
Wexford in the
All-Ireland final. He ended the season by being named on the Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year.
Senior O'Donovan made his senior debut for Limerick on 13 February 2016 in a
National League defeat of
Wexford. Later that season he made his first championship start in a 1-24 to 0-18 defeat by
Westmeath. O'Donovan missed most of the
2018 National League after sustaining a broken finger. On 19 August 2018, O'Donovan scored a point from midfield when Limerick won their first
All-Ireland title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat of
Galway in the final. O'Donovan ended the season by being nominated for an
All-Star Award. On 31 March 2019, O'Donovan was selected at midfield for Limerick's
National League final meeting with
Waterford at
Croke Park. He collected a winners' medal after scoring a point from a line ball in the 1-24 to 0-19 victory. On 30 June 2019, O'Donovan won a
Munster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute following Limerick's 2-26 to 2-14 defeat of
Tipperary in the
final. ==Career statistics==