GERRY HICKEY:GERRY HICKEY, who has died aged 67, was a key adviser to former taoiseach Bertie Ahern. As programme manager in the taoiseach's office between 1997 and 2008 he played an important role in advising the government throughout that period.
Dennis Gerard Hickey was born in Mallow, Co Cork, where his family circumstances were modest. His Kerry-born father Jack went to Scotland to look for work in those straitened times and died there at the age of 52. He left behind a family of 10 children, six of whom were still at school. Hickey recalled later how hard his mother worked to make ends meet and secure an education for her children.
He attended St Francis College, Rochestown and later studied for the priesthood but left before being ordained as a Capuchin. He then joined the Civil Service and had a successful career in the Department of Finance.
When Ahern became minister for finance in November 1991, he appointed Hickey, then a senior official in the department, as his programme manager. It marked the beginning of a long relationship between the two men.
After the collapse of the Fianna Fáil-Labour government at the end of 1994, Hickey worked briefly for Ahern’s successor Ruairí Quinn of the Labour Party and then in the Department of the Marine but left the Civil Service to become managing director of Irish Continental Group’s ferry division.
A year after he became leader of Fianna Fáil, Ahern invited Hickey back to work for him in opposition. He became programme manager and special adviser to the taoiseach when the party returned to power in coalition with the Progressive Democrats in 1997.
His role attracted little media attention, apart from regular reports about his salary which went from €111,000 in 1997 to €225,410 10 years later, making him the highest-paid political appointee in the government’s backroom team.
Hickey worked very well on a day-to-day basis with former senator Katharine Bulbulia who was programme manager to tánaiste and PD leader Mary Harney. The two advisers were crucial to the stability of the PD-Fianna Fáil relationship.
In a eulogy at Hickey’s funeral, Ahern described him as “this decent man” and the description recurs in the recollections of many who worked with him. Ahern said he was “a wise counsellor, a key adviser, and a good and close friend”.
With his Civil Service background, Hickey never got seriously involved in the kind of politics at local level which captivated his boss. His focus was more on national issues, particularly the economy, but he also played a role in the Northern Ireland peace process. He shared a common and generally unflappable temperament with Ahern, who recalled that “Gerry was at his best in times of pressure”.
Both men were obsessed with sport: Ahern with Manchester United and the “Dubs” and Hickey with Munster rugby and the Kerry football team. This cemented the bond between them.
In their political roles, they avoided confrontation and strove to maintain good relations with all sides but shared a dogged determination to achieve their objectives.
Unlike Ahern, Hickey kept the lowest of profiles. He never had any hunger to stride the national stage, preferring to work quietly but effectively behind the scenes. Like many of the most important people in public administration, he was just another face in the crowd. But he was famously astute and, as one colleague put it, “could see around political corners”.
Hickey chaired weekly meetings of the programme managers and this enabled him to foresee and forestall blockages in the political system; he was a consummate troubleshooter. The implementation of the programme for government was his primary focus.
Outside working hours, he had a passion for hiking, shooting and mountaineering. He regularly brought colleagues and friends on treks in the Wicklow mountains and marked his 50th birthday by climbing Mont Blanc. He loved France and was at his happiest relaxing with his family in their holiday home in Puissalicon.
On his arrival in the Department of Finance in 1971 he also entered the portals of Doheny and Nesbitt where he liked to repair with friends for a social drink after work. He was also a member of the department’s discreet wine-tasting society.
Diagnosed with cancer a few months after his retirement, he took a philosophical approach to his illness, facing it, in Ahern’s words, “with fortitude, resilience and courage”.
To the end he remained friendly and loyal to the embattled Ahern and in conversation only a few months, back expressed concern that “Bertie is giving too many interviews”.
He is survived by his wife Margaret, daughters Susan and Ciara, son Barry and granddaughter Mia.
Gerry Hickey: born July 12th, 1944; died February 9th, 2012