Hickey sisters hoping to continue mother's legacy

Kate and Sarah Hickey are following in the footsteps of their mother, Jillian Hayes, the outstanding Irish basketballer of the 1990s

GLORY DAYS: Jillian Hayes in action for Wildcats against Meteors in 1996. Pic: INPHO/Tom Honan

They’ve got the key, that’s been their secret. Well that and who their mother happens to be.

This time two years ago Kate and Sarah Hickey were denied the chance to go down to Cork for the customary National Cup semi-final weekend, just as Covid also would deprive them of the opportunity to play with their respective national underage teams. But while the country was in lockdown and their sport and national league was shut down for 18 months, they would reach almost daily for the most valuable metal in their household, even more precious than any of the Superleague or Cup medals their mother ever won.