Dr. Thomas O'Hagan (March 6, 1855 - March 1, 1939) was a Canadian poet, teacher, and academic.
Life
O'Hagan was born in the Gore of Toronto (now part of Mississauga, Ontario), the youngest of 5 children of John and Bridget (O'Reilly) O'Hagan. When he was less than a year old, the family moved to rural Bruce Country to the township of Elderslie, three miles from the village of Paisley. The other settlers were mostly Highland Scotch, and Thomas as a lad learned to speak quite fluently not only the Gaelic tongue of his neighbours, but also the Keltic Irish, which was spoken freely by his parents. He attended the public school of the settlement where the teachers were Scotch, and where he applied himself with such diligence and ability that he won a Second Class Teacher's Certificate at the early age of sixteen
He attended St. Michael's College in Toronto, and then the University of Ottawa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1882 and Master of Arts in 1885., and Syracuse University in 1889, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1889. He also did postgraduate work at Cornell, Columbia, Chicago, Louvain, Grenoble and Fribourg Universities.
He alternated, and paid for, his studies with periods of teaching. From 1884 to 1888 he taught classics and history at Barrie, Pembroke, and Mitchell Collegiates. After graduating from Syracuse he taught at Walkerton High School, and then became principal of Waterdown Collegiate.
He wrote both poetry and academic essays, and became known as a popular lecturer on many subjects. From 1910 to 1913 he was chief editor of The New World in Chicago.
He was a regular contributor to the Catholic World magazine for over 30 years.
He died, after a two-year illness, at Mercy Hospital in Toronto. He is buried at St. Mary Immaculate Church in Chepstow, Ontario.
Writing
O'Hagan's debut collection of poetry, A Gate of Flowers, was praised by John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Louis Fréchette, and Charles G.D. Roberts. Poet Nicholas Flood Davin wrote to him: "I cannot deny myself the pleasure of telling you what I think about these verses. They are instinct with true inspiration, and should have, for all time, a place in Irish literature."
The Canadian Magazine called "The Song My Mother Sings" (from his 2nd book, In Dreamland) "the finest poem of its kind ever published in Canada."
Recognition
O'Hagan was awarded Litt.D. degrees from Laval University in 1914 and the University of Ottawa in 1924, and an LL.D. from Notre Dame University in 1917.