First-class travel to meet celebs round the globe... then back home for Mass and a pint at the local pub
IT SHOULD have been a special day for Sylviane Hickey yesterday – celebrating her birthday with a romantic meal for two in a nice restaurant, or at her comfortable home in Castleknock, surrounded by her children and extended family and friends.
It will have been marred, however, for the newly turned 67-year-old, by the knowledge that her husband of more than four decades, Pat Hickey, is languishing in prison.
French native Sylviane Dufour-Borreau has been married to Mr Hickey for almost 45 years and they have travelled the world together meeting the rich and famous while he has attended to his Olympic affairs.
They also have four children, Frederic, Stephan, daughter Corine and Alain and five grandchildren, with two more on the way.
Mr Hickey was born and raised in Phibsboro, north Dublin city but the couple moved to the salubrious suburb of Castleknock. In 1977 they established Hickey Auctioneers, and the next year bought a comfortable semi-detached house closer to the village for £24,000 (€30,480). It is now worth close to €700,000.
Their adult children are aged between 28 and 40, with eldest son Freddie running the auctioneering and insurance business. Two of his daughters-in-law are in the early stages of pregnancy with one, according to the family’s solicitor Anne Marie James, expecting a ‘miracle’ baby. The Hickey children went to the local primary school, St Brigid’s, along with Hollywood actor Colin Farrell.
Hickey Sr, a national judo champion, was described as being rougher around the edges than the usual type who went for a place on the OCI. But he was admired for his enthusiasm and energy. Sylviane is credited with helping to secure him a place on the committee. Former OCI president Des O’Sullivan once said of him: ‘He was this cheeky fellow with obvious ambition but we got on well and he turned out to be the right man for the job. He brought his wife to a lot of fundraising events and she was a bloody great worker.
‘Before one Olympic Games she was in my shop when the uniforms were delivered. She asked what I was going to do with them. I said I was going to get them ready for the athletes. She said, “How can I help you?” This was a woman I barely knew.’ She had all of the suits organised in two hours.
Rio is the latest in a long line of jaunts the couple have enjoyed since he was appointed to the International Olympic Committee in 1995, described as one of the most elite clubs in the world. Despite the first-class junkets the Hickeys were never flash or ostentatious. Even the 161D SUV in their driveway is believed to be part of a Kia sponsorship deal.
They are a regular fixture in Castleknock. One local said: ‘They’d be seen at Mass or Pat would pop into Myo’s [the pub in the village]. He’s very much in the driving seat in that relationship, you can tell that pretty quickly. It’s the kind of personality he has.’
Others have described him as a ‘great raconteur’ and ‘good company’. And while many believe he is now reaping what he sowed, others credit him with being a dynamic force within international sporting circles.