Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa: A man moulded by an idyllic childhood and famine horrors

What made Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa oppose British rule? Author Shane Kenna describes his early life and the key moments that helped shape his future path as a patriot.    

JEREMIAH O’Donovan Rossa was born Jeremiah O’Donovan, at Reenascreena in the idyllic setting of West Cork on 10 September 1831 to Dennis and Nellie O’Donovan.

From the age of three, the young Jeremiah was sent to live with his maternal grandparents Cornelius and Anna O’Driscoll. There he lived with his aunts and uncles. Life at his grandparents’ home was tranquil, sublime and at times utopian. Their home was one of music, song, poetry and history.