Christopher and John Hickey: LLB Hons

Christopher and John Hickey

LLB Hons, 2002

Identical twins Christopher and John Hickey have always liked to do things together. When the time came to leave home in the Republic of Ireland to go to university they were determined to stay together and decided to apply to the same institution.

Now the brothers have achieved an amazing double by being awarded identical First Class Honours degrees.

They are delighted to have both achieved a 'First', admitting that if it had been only one of them the more successful of the two would have felt bad for the other - though similarly they insist that the one without the First would not have minded at all.

"But it's great that we both made it. The difference between a 2:1 and a First can be a lot or it could be hardly anything at all, so we could have had very close marks but still have been awarded different degrees," said John.

Or maybe it was Chris - they are uncannily alike and almost impossible to tell apart, although they have some classic 'mirror twin' features, Chris being left and John right handed.

Lecturer Chris Dixon admits getting quite a shock when he first encountered the twins in one of his classes.

"I looked at this person and thought 'I'm sure I've seen him before', then I looked around and saw an identical version sitting nearby!"

It was the start of a very enjoyable teaching experience, he says.

"Chris and John Hickey are exceptional students who worked extremely hard on the LLB and applied themselves diligently to the tasks set them. They clearly are equally gifted with a high level of ability, and their results serve to demonstrate this. It was always a pleasure and a very easy task to mark their work because it was always clear, concise and written in an engaging style."

The twins chose to come to England from their home in Freshford, Kilkenny, because it would have been quite difficult to secure places on the same course at the same university in Ireland.

Having relations and friends in the town, they decided to apply to the University of Luton, and feel it was the right decision.

"The course was very broad and interesting and we enjoyed it a lot," they agree."

It was around Christmas last year that they realised Firsts were a real possibility and went for "a final push" which resulted in their joint success. They have always studied together and bounced ideas off each other and their closeness only caused a problem on one occasion when one of their tutors was sure that essays they submitted were far too similar to have been written separately.

Luckily, the twins managed to convince him of their innocence!

"Lots of students brainstorm together and bounce ideas off each other when they're studying, and that's what we have always done," they explained.

"But in this particular case, although we wrote our essays separately they did turn out extremely similar!"

Now, with their Firsts secured, the twins are considering their future - will it be a partnership of Hickey & Hickey, Solicitors? Will their future even be within the legal profession?

"Law is such a broad subject, we can think about a lot of different careers and we haven't really made up our minds," they say. "We might delay taking a decision for a year and get some work experience."

If they do choose to pursue a career in Law, however, they will have to decide if they eventually want to practice in Ireland - while their degree is transferable, the post-graduate training system differs slightly from that in England.

Chris Dixon said: "I and my colleagues in the department are absolutely delighted for them and wish them great success in their future careers. Chris and John represent the very best level of attainment possible at Luton. They can go forward with confidence in the knowledge that they have a very firm grounding in Law and have a great deal to offer any concern that they might choose to join in the future."

Interview by Sheena Latimer took place in 2002.

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Christopher and John Hickey: LLB Hons