Ó hÍceadha (in English: Hickey; O'Hickey) is a surname of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
origin.
Naming conventions
History
The Ó hÍceadha surname is especially associated with the
Kingdom of Thomond
Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nena ...
, where bearers of the name were in successive generations a medical family who were physicians to the
clans of the
Dál gCais, as well as other premier families of
Munster and
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
. Their home territory was Ballyhickey ("Baile Uí Ícidhe", or ''O Hickey's settlement''), its neighbouring townland of Drim, and other townlands around
Quin, County Clare
Quin () is a village in southeast County Clare, Ireland. The name also refers to a civil parish in the barony of Bunratty Upper, and to an ecclesiastical parish of the same name. The main attraction in the vicinity is Quin Abbey, the ruins o ...
. Prior to the 13th century they resided near
Killaloe. By tradition, the O'Hickeys were reportedly known for brain surgery, especially the art of trepanning with silver plates the skulls fractures and other head injuries sustained in battle.
Doctors in the Hickey family were famous for their study of medicine and translated many Latin and Greek Medical textbooks over the centuries. In 1403, Nicholas Ó hÍceadha (with Boulger O'Callahan) wrote a commentary on the ''
Aphorisms'' of
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...
, a fragment of which is still preserved in the British Museum, London.
[ In 1489, Donnchad Óg Ó hÍceadha translated the works of contemporary European surgeons, an example being the work of Pietro d'Argeloto, the Chirurgia, into the ]Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
.[ The British Museum holds two further medical works of 1589 by Tomás Ó hÍceadha of Clare, and one by Domhnall Ó Troighthigh for the O'Hickeys. The ''Book of the O'Hickeys'' is located in the National Library of Ireland.]
See also
* Hickey (surname)
* Irish medical families
Further reading
* ''O'Hickie of Kileton'', Thomas Pierce, ''Shannonside Annual'', 1957, pp. 65-69
* ''A historical profile of the Hickey, O'Hickey family: the Dalcassians of Ireland. Cover Title: Hickey, O'Hickey (OhIcidhe)'', Irish Families Historical Society, New Jersey, c. 1993
* ''A little of Limerick, an account of the Hickey, Scanlan, and Baggott families of Camperdown and Cobden'', J & S Walter, Australia (1999)
* ''Irish dusk colonial dawn: the Dooly, Hickey, O'Brien, O'Neill (Neale), O'Toole (Toole) & Ryan septs'', Damian John Gleeson, Australia (1999)
References
External links
Hickey family pedigree
at Library Ireland
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:O hIceadha
Surnames
Irish families
Irish Brehon families
Surnames of Irish origin
Irish-language surnames
Families of Irish ancestry
History of County Clare
Irish medical families