Connacht rugby player says it was always a ‘dream’ to play in the home of Mayo GAA

The news spread quickly in Mayo earlier this week: Connacht Rugby confirmed that they will play Munster in the home of Mayo GAA: Hastings Insurance MacHale Park will be the venue for this BKT United Rugby Championship fixture. A professional rugby match played on a Gaelic football pitch. There have been precedents for that, for example, the famous Six Nations game against England in Croke Park in 2007. But this game will be the first of its kind in Mayo. 

It is definitely a historic occasion for Ballina man Dave Heffernan, the hooker who has more than 200 caps for Connacht: “It’s going to be pretty special. Gaelic football was a huge part of my life growing up. It was always a dream of mine to play for Mayo in MacHale Park. [I] never got to do that, thought the door was closed for me there. I’ll get the chance hopefully to get selected to play in that game now.”

Heffernan comes from a family steeped in sporting tradition. His father, Ivan, put on the green and red for Mayo for years as a goalkeeper. His uncle Niall also played county and is currently manager of reigning county champions Ballina Stephenites and his grandfather, Ivan, was a legendary figure in Ballina rugby. He was such a pivotal figure in the sport that Ballina RFC’s home ground, Heffernan Park, is named after him. 

“It will be massive for the club and hopefully open doors up for a lot of new fans. It’s a 25,000-seater stadium. They’ve done a huge amount of redevelopment over the years as well. We can’t wait.

Heffernan grew up with sport all around him and even well into his teens there was a strong possibility that he could have ended up in the green and red of Mayo rather than the green of Connacht. He was a talented footballer with the Stephenites until he went to Blackrock College and rugby took over.

And next March, Heffernan will get a chance to play for his province Connacht in the home of Gaelic football in Mayo. Rugby fans throughout the county will hope that promising talent, Geesala native Fiachna Barrett, will get a few game minutes on home soil.