Séamus Hickey (born 2 October 1987) is an Irish sportsperson. He played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

with his local club Murroe-Boher from 2005 to 2019 and is now a member of the Croagh-Kilfinny club. Hickey was a member of the

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

senior inter-county team from 2006 until 2018.

Playing career

College

Hickey first came to prominence as a hurler with St. Flannan's College in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

. Having played in every grade as a hurler and

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er, he was a left wing-back and centre-back on the college's senior hurling teams that won back-to-back Harty Cup titles in 2004 and 2005. On 2 May 2005, Hickey won an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medal after a 2-15 to 2-12 defeat of St. Kieran's College from

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

in the final at Semple Stadium.

University

During his studies at the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

, Hickey immediately became involved with the university's hurling team stating: "My induction day as a fresher, they were going looking at lecture halls and timetables. I went straight for the GAA office and asked when the Fitzgibbon trials were on! I saw it as an extension of school hurling and representing where you go. For me, I thought it was natural while developing as a hurler." After losing the 2009 Fitzgibbon Cup final at left wing-back to

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

in 2009, Hickey was moved to the full-back line with Michael "Brick" Walsh and Paddy Stapleton for UL's 1-17 to 2-11 defeat of the Limerick Institute of Technology in the final on 26 February 2011.

Club

Hickey joined the Murroe-Boher club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He played for the club's Junior B team for the first time at the age of fifteen, before becoming centre-back the following year. Hickey made his first senior appearance at the age of seventeen, marking Brian Geary in a championship game against Monaleen. Hickey also played Gaelic football with the Monaleen senior team. On 16 October 2011, he won a Limerick Football Championship medal after coming on as a substitute in Monaleen's 1-12 to 1-07 defeat of

Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicised Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city. It is also the county t ...

in the final. On 18 October 2017, Hickey won a

Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship The Limerick Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Lyons of Limerick County Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Limerick PIHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by th ...

medal following a 1-21 to 1-15 defeat of Garryspillane in a replay of the final. On 15 January 2020, it was announced that Hickey had transferred from his native Murroe-Boher to Croagh-Kilfinny. In June 2021, Hickey added a County Junior medal to his silverware. He lined out at centre back for his new club Croagh-Kilfinny, as they defeated Patrickswell in the Covid-delayed 2020 Junior A County Hurling Final.

Inter-county

Minor and under-21

Hickey first played for Limerick at minor level during the team's unsuccessful 2004 championship. He was eligible for the grade again the following year and, after being defeated by Cork in the Munster final, Limerick qualified for the All-Ireland final on 11 September 2005. Hickey scored two points from midfield in the 3-12 to 0-17 defeat by

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. On 7 June 2006, Hickey made his first appearance for the Limerick under-21 hurling team in an 0-11 to 0-10 defeat by

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in the Munster Championship. It was the first of three unsuccessful seasons with the team.

Senior

On 26 March 2006, Hickey made his senior debut for Limerick when he came on as a substitute for Mark O'Riordan in a

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

defeat of

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

at O'Moore Park. He later came on as a 62nd-minute substitute in Limerick's league final defeat by

. Hickey made his first championship appearance on 14 May 2006 in a 0-22 to 2-12 defeat by Tipperary in the Munster Championship. Hickey played in his first Munster final on 8 July 2007 in a 3-17 to 1-14 defeat by Waterford. After a subsequent All-Ireland semi-final defeat of Waterford, Hickey lined out in his first All-Ireland final on 2 September 2007. Hickey had a torrid afternoon marking

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

Eddie Brennan who scored 1-05 from play in Kilkenny's 2-19 to 1-15 victory. Hickey later remarked: "I wouldn’t go OTT on it but I was a boy that day, I really was, playing with real men." He ended the season by being nominated for an All-Star Award and by being named Vodafone Young Hurler of the Year. After two disappointing seasons, Limerick manager Justin McCarthy dropped several high-profile players from the panel in October 2009. Over the course of the winter, many more players, including Hickey, withdrew from the panel and refused to play while McCarthy and his management team remained in place. The Limerick County Board refused to remove McCarthy and contested the league and championship with a new group of players. Hickey, who spent much of the championship season in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, admitted: "It was a difficult decision. My ambition since I was knee high was to wear the green and white. But I stood up for something I believed in. I had stood shoulder to shoulder with many of the great men to wear Limerick jerseys over the last 10 years and I felt the treatment we were getting and the deal we were dealt wasn’t fair." Hickey made his return to the Limerick team on 13 February 2011 in a National League defeat of Clare. On 30 April 2011, he won a National League Division 2 medal after a 4-12 to 2-13 defeat of Clare in the final. On 14 July 2013, Hickey scored a point from left wing-forward in Limerick's 0-24 to 0-15 defeat of Cork in the Munster final. In the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final against Clare, he was forced off injured after just 14 minutes with a knee injury. Damage to his cruciate ligament was later diagnosed. Hickey returned to the Limerick team in May 2014. On 10 August 2014, Hickey was named man of the match in Limerick's 2-13 to 0-17 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final. He ended the season by being named in the left corner-back position on the All-Star team. On 19 August 2018, Hickey was a non-playing substitute when Limerick won their first

title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat of

in the final. On 4 December 2018, Hickey announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.

Inter-provincial

Hickey made his first appearance for the

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

team in a 2-17 to 1-16 defeat by

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

on 15 October 2006. On 27 October 2007, Hickey won a Railway Cup medal following Munster's 2-22 to 2-19 defeat of Connacht in the final at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

Career statistics

Hickey working as Program Manager at Ei Electronics, Shannon since February 2025.He was working at Johnson & Johnson as Project Manager for innovation-focused Sensors and IoT Laboratory for 5 years before joining EI. Previously he was Research Projects Coordinator, also with J&J. In 2018 Seamus was awarded a PhD at the Stokes Institute at University of Limerick. He has a First-Class Honours Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from U.L.

Inter-county

Inter-provincial

Honours

;St. Flannan's College * Dr. Croke Cup (1):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

* Dr. Harty Cup (2): 2004, 2005 ;University of Limerick * Fitzgibbon Cup (1): 2011 ;Croagh-Kilfinny * Limerick Junior Hurling Championship (1): 2020 ;Murroe-Boher *

(1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

;Monaleen *

Limerick Senior Football Championship The Limerick Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top Limerick GAA clubs. The champions qualify to represent Limerick in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship, the winners of which progre ...

(1): 2011 ;Limerick *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

(1):

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* National Hurling League Division 2 (1):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

* Munster Senior Hurling League (1):

* Waterford Crystal Cup (2): 2006, 2015 ;Munster * Railway Cup (1):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

;Individual * All Stars Young Hurler of the Year (1): 2007 * GAA GPA All Stars Awards (1): 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickey, Seamus 1987 births Living people Murroe-Boher hurlers Monaleen Gaelic footballers Limerick inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen GAA/GPA Young Hurlers of the Year