Background
Michael O'Hickey was born in Carrickbeg, County Waterford, Ireland. His mother died at an early age and his father remarried.
Catholic priest professor of Irish
Michael O'Hickey was born in Carrickbeg, County Waterford, Ireland. His mother died at an early age and his father remarried.
He studied for the priesthood in St. John's College, Waterford, and was ordained a priest in 1884. He was an active member of the Gaelic League and studied under the noted Irish scholar Sean Plemion.
He had an older brother Martin, and a younger half brother Maurice. In 1896 he was appointed Professor of Irish in Maynooth College, succeeding Fr. Eugene O'Growney. After clashing with the bishops and establishment, O'Hickey was dismissed in 1909 from his position as Professor of Irish, for his conduct in the controversy over Irish as a matriculation subject for the new National University of Ireland.
He appealed his dismissal to the Vatican, but his appeal was refused. Sometimes his name appears as Michael Hickey rather than Micheal O'Hickey, or even in Irish as An tAthair Micheál Ó hIcí. He died in Portlaw in 1916 and is buried in the Hickey family plot in the Friary Cemetery in Carrick Beg, Co.
Waterford.