Sr. Maire Hickey OSB

In 1983, the community elected Sr Máire as the second abbess of Dinklage and in 1995 she was re-elected to serve for a further 12 years until 2007.   

Sr Máire was committed to building community within the worldwide context of the Benedictine Order. She was the long-time chairwoman of the Association of Benedictine Women's Monasteries in German-speaking countries (VBD).    

During her abbatial term at Dinklage, she helped establish the Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB) – the International Communion of Benedictine Women - and was elected the first moderator of CIB in 1998, a role she held until 2006.  

In 2007, she moved to Kylemore Abbey, where she served as leader of the monastic community until 2023. During her fifteen-year tenure as Abbess of Kylemore Abbey, Sr Máire guided the community through a period of great change and development. She set out a new vision for Kylemore Abbey, establishing The Kylemore Trust which enabled many new physical developments and enhancements to the Estate.  

In keeping with Kylemore Abbey’s long tradition of education going back to Ypres in 1665, Sr Máire led the development of a partnership with the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA) which established a Notre Dame Global Centre of Education at Kylemore. For her commitment to education and spirituality, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Notre Dame University in 2016.  

A keen interest in the community’s history and that of Irish female monasticism in general, led her to encourage projects that eventually resulted in the publication of The Benedictine Nuns and Kylemore Abbey: A History (Dublin, 2020) and Brides of Christ: Women and Monasticism in Medieval and Early Modern Ireland (Dublin, 2022). 

In 2019, she initiated The Mustard Seed project, which links Kylemore’s Benedictine Community with the Benedictine Sisters of Christu Jyothi in the Diocese of Cuddapah (Kadapa), Andhra Pradesh, India.  

In 2024, recently retired from the position of Abbess, Sr Máire along with the community celebrated the opening of the new Monastery of the Immaculate Conception at Kylemore Abbey. This was the realisation of a 100-year vision to establish a purpose-built monastery at Kylemore, alongside an Education and Residential Retreat Centre.  This historic milestone was a testament to the leadership, faith and dedication, of Sr Máire who shepherded the project through many challenges.  

Sr Máire is fondly remembered by the Benedictine nuns of Kylemore Abbey, her sister, Una, and brother-in-law, Sam Wilson, and her nieces, Orla Wilson, Fiona Malan, Kathryn Wilson and their families, along with the board members of The Kylemore Trust, the Kylemore Abbey Team, and by the wider monastic world and the local community. 

Speaking on behalf of the Benedictine Community of Kylemore Abbey, Mother Karol O’Connell said:

“Sr. Maire was a woman of great faith, humility and wisdom.  She was a builder of Benedictine peace, community, openness, and holy creativity.  Her legacy will continue to live on here in Kylemore Abbey, in the wider monastic community, and far beyond - bringing blessings wherever she placed her hand and her heart.”