Born in Eniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Ovenden was ordained in 1870, rising to become Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin in 1911, a post he held until his death.  As well as being a popular lecturer, writer and a musician, he also exhibited regularly, largely landscapes, from 1882 onwards at the Dublin Sketching Club and the Royal Hibernian Academy.