Kevin Heffernan (20 August 1929 – 25 January 2013) was an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager who played as a left corner-forward at senior level for the Dublin county team.
Heffernan made his debut during the 1948 championship and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1962 championship. During that time he won one All-Ireland medal, four Leinster medals and three National League medals. An All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion, Heffernan captained the team to the All-Ireland title in 1958.
At club level Heffernan enjoyed a lengthy career with St. Vincent's. He won fifteen county football championship medals and six county hurling championship medals.
In retirement from playing Heffernan became involved in coaching and team management. As Dublin manager he revived the county team and steered them to three All-Ireland titles between 1974 and 1983.
Heffernan has a number of personal achievements. In 1974 he became the only non-player to be honoured as the Texaco Footballer of the Year. In 1984 he was named in the left corner-forward position on the GAA's Team of the Century. He was confirmed in this position when the Team of the Millennium was named in 1999.
Early and private life
Kevin Heffernan was born on 20 August 1929 in Dublin. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was not born into a football background, as his father's interests included hunting and shooting rather than Gaelic games. Heffernan's family moved to the Marino area of the city when he was very young, and it was here that he first came into contact with both football and hurling. He later attended Scoil Mhuire and St. Joseph's Christian Brothers school, Fairview, where he made great progress as a hurler and as a footballer. It was in secondary school that he first tasted major success, as he won a Leinster Colleges hurling title in 1945.
By profession Heffernan was a personnel manager for the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and he became Chairman of the Labour Court.
Playing career
Club
Heffernan's club hurling and football career coincided with a hugely successful period in the history of the famous St Vincent's club in Dublin. In terms of football he won a total of 15 senior county championship medals, completing a seven in-a-row 1949 to 1955, a six in-a-row between 1957 and 1962, before winning his 14th and 15th county titles in 1966 and 1967. Heffernan also won six senior county championship hurling titles in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959 and 1962.
Inter-county
Heffernan played both hurling and football at minor level with Dublin in the early 1940s. He had some success at these levels, winning a Leinster minor football medal in 1946 and a Leinster minor hurling medal in 1947. He made his senior debut for the Dublin footballers the same year that he was sitting his Leaving Certificate, breaking his jaw in a game just days before his first exam. In spite of this inauspicious start Heffernan went on to have a distinguished inter-county career.
Heffernan first tasted success in 1948 when he won an All-Ireland medal with the junior football team. In 1953 he won a National Football League before winning a second medal in 1955. Later that same year Heffernan claimed his first Leinster; however, his side were later defeated by Kerry in the All-Ireland final. Three years later in 1958 Heffernan was captain of Dublin when he won his third National League title as well as a second Leinster title. He later guided his native-county to an All-Ireland victory over Derry. Heffernan later won two further Leinster titles in 1959 and 1962, however, there was no further All-Ireland titles. He retired from inter-county football shortly afterwards.
Managerial career
Following a great inter-county career with Dublin, he became manager of the senior inter-county team in late 1973, with Donal Colfer and Lorcan Redmond as his fellow selectors. The era was dominated by the intense rivalry between Dublin and Kerry. In his first championship season in charge he guided 'the Dubs' to their first Leinster and All-Ireland titles since 1963. Heffernan's young Dublin side captivated the imagination of the youth and working class of the city, traditionally not Gaelic Football followers. The Dublin fans branded themselves 'Heffo's Army' in his honour, and this was the start of the Dublin Hill 16 terrace culture which remains strong in the present day.