Hirkala was born in Passaic and dropped out of high school to join the United States Navy.

[5][6] Hirkala dropped out of Passaic High School at the age of 17 in order to join the United States Navy on November 26, 1940.

[15][16] Anthony Martini, who served as city clerk of Passaic for 28 years, left office on January 1, 1977, and was replaced by Hirkala.

[31] Hirkala declined to seek reelection as chair in 1973, and Grossi was elected to succeed him on June 12.

[32][33] In 1967, Hirkala ran for a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly from district 14A as the Democratic nominee.

[40] Hirkala, William J. Bate, and Joseph A. Lazzara were the Democratic nominees and all three won in the general election.

[54] Hirkala was selected as assistant minority leader in 1972 after being nominated by Bate[55] and Majority Whip in 1973.

[57] Majority Leader Steven P. Perskie resigned on June 17, 1982, as he was being appointed as a superior court judge and Hirkala was selected to replace him.

[59] In 1975, Senator John J. Fay Jr. accused Hirkala of improper conduct by delaying a bill that would create a legislative commission to study allegations in the nursing home industry.

Hirkala requested an investigation into himself and Matthew Boylan, the director of criminal justice, determined that no improper conduct was discovered.

[65] He was the third state senator, after John P. Caufield and Walter E. Foran, to die in office within the previous year.

[66] Gabriel M. Ambrosio won the special election to fill the vacancy created by Hirkala's death.

[68] He and Augustus Capers proposed an amendment to the Constitution of New Jersey to lower the voting age to 18 in 1968.

[75][76] He called for Treasurer Richard Leone to resign on June 25, 1975, stating that he was responsible for New Jersey's poor financial status and his support for an income tax.