‘I think he would be very proud’ – Orla Hickey
Waterford’s Orla Hickey is looking forward to the challenge against Galway on Sunday. Photos: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Orla Hickey will be thinking of someone special when she takes the field in Nowlan Park on Sunday. She lost her biggest supporter last November when her father, Ger, passed away after a battle with cancer.
“It’s a strange one. I remember the first match, I looked up to the stands to see where my family and friends were, and, unfortunately, he wasn’t there. I think he would be very proud. He was one proud man! It’s actually his birthday two days before the league final, so it would be extra special to do it for him.”
Before big matches with Waterford, he always told Orla to play her own game. She misses the post-match chats as well. “You would always know if you had a good game or a bad game because he would never pull the wool over your eyes. He would tell you straight!”
Anyone who watched the camogie documentary on RTÉ before Christmas would have been touched by the gorgeous relationship between father and daughter. She flew home from Canada after he received the diagnosis.
“It’s been great to get messages from people all over the country. People told me they could relate to it so much. It’s also to show people your life outside of sport. People think we’re athletes and we don’t have a life, whereas outside of sport, everyone has a life.”
While Ger will be looking down from the best seat in the house this weekend, there will be plenty of support for Orla in the stands. “My Mam, my brothers and sisters, their partners and their kids and my grandmother. A few of my friends will be there as well so it will be brilliant.”
Hickey has been a first-team regular for Waterford since 2018. She received back-to-back All-Star nominations in 2022 and 2023. Whether in defence, midfield or attack, she loves to get stuck in. She is sporting a black eye at present after the recent league battle with Kilkenny. “It was just an accident, I got a hurley into the eye! It wasn’t anyone’s fault; it was just a freak accident that happened.”
Orla is just as comfortable with a ball at her feet as she is with a sliotar in her hand. “I started with the boys' team in Stradbally, and then I was with the ladies ' team in Tramore. We were very successful. In recent years, I’ve been with Dungarvan.”
After last year’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Cork, she got offered the opportunity to switch codes and signed for Waterford FC. “I knew the manager, Gary Hunt, and I was in talks with him throughout the year,” she explains.
“I told him that we would have a chat once the camogie was finished. I’m glad I did it. They’re a great bunch. It was great to be part of history, we were the first Waterford team to play in the national league.”
Outside of the sporting arena, Hickey is considering a career change at the moment. “I’ve been working in a gym for a good few years. I’m currently trying to change careers or find a path I’m interested in. I was in Dean Roche’s gym, Precision Health Performance. He is our strength and conditioning coach. It’s been great; I’ve been working with Dean for years on and off the pitch. I’ve been doing classes, some personal training and working with teams with strength and conditioning.”
After knocking at the door in recent years, a Division 1A title would mean an awful lot to Hickey and her teammates. “It would be huge. We’ve been there or thereabouts, but you never just want to be there or thereabouts. You want to be there, and you want to be winning. It would be brilliant.”
Waterford have already defeated Galway once this season. “Beating them away from home was a huge thing. It was definitely a confidence boost. They’re a strong, physical team. To be the best, you want to beat the best.”
