CHICAGO FIREPOWER! Hickey Blazes to SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers March Award

BOHEMIANS star man, Patrick Hickey has been named SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland  Player of the Month for March. He has continued his excellent start to the season where he quickly established himself as a key member of the Gypsies’ squad that sit proudly joint top with St Patrick’s Athletic in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division table.

He secured over 50% of the first preference votes in the SWI nationwide poll and finished nine votes ahead of former Irish international, Daryl Horgan (Dundalk) with Galway United’s Kris Twardek a distant third.

American-born Hickey helped Bohs’ to three clean sheets over the month under review, adding two goals to secure his second nomination in-a-row for the SWI monthly gong.

Three other players – Harry Wood of Shelbourne, a previous winner, James Brown of St Pat’s and teenager Adam Brennan of Shamrock Rovers were also short-listed for the award.

Alan Reynolds’ Bohs were undefeated in March as they eased up the table to join the title race after ten matches.

Hickey (27) who was born in Des Plaines in Illinois studied at UCD and played for Athlone Town and Galway United before he joined Bohs’ on November 22 last on a multi-year contract.

He wears the No.12 shirt at Dalymount Park but is anything but a twelfth man as he has contributed greatly to his team’s surge to the summit.

“We have the best defensive record in the league so far but that’s testament to the hard work and graft that we put in as a back four and it’s living proof of the great start we have made to the season. We have been solid across the back line, and the cherry on top, is the fact that we remain unbeaten. We have some serious quality at the top end of the pitch too and the goals are flying in,” said Hickey who has plenty of Irish relations here at home. Bohemians have drawn their last four games dropping a few points and probably need a bit more consistency to sustain their title challenge but Hickey says the title race is a marathon and never won in March or April.

“Alan Reynolds has been brilliant for me and he started watching me when I was with Athlone

and he was at Waterford. He has seen me play in a variety of positions and he was the one to convert me to a centre-half. I can only thank him for the confidence and belief he has shown in me and I have settled well to my new role in the team,” he added.

Hickey’s Irish connections include his grandfather coming from Castleisland in Co. Kerry and his grandmother coming from Laharden in Co. Mayo.

“Both on my father’s side and my mother’s side I have connections. Their family would be from Newmarket on Fergus in Clare so I still have loads of Irish tumbling around the place and cousins everywhere,” he added.