Niamh Hetherton (Clontarf, Dublin) pictured at the announcement of AIB’s landmark sponsorship agreement with the LGFA, which sees AIB become the title sponsor of the coveted All-Ireland Ladies’ Football Club Championship. This historic four-year sponsorship marks the first time a single sponsor has united all four codes of Gaelic Games – Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie, and Ladies Football – under one banner. Photo by Dan Sheridan/INPHO
By Cian O’Connell
Niamh Hetherton smiles as the question is asked. Was sport simply always on the agenda? “I suppose, you could say that,” Hetherton responds.
Football, hurling, and camogie occupied a central role in her upbringing, but it was certainly time well spent. “We're GAA orientated in the family,” she adds.
“It probably started with my Mam and Dad, who were both heavily involved and both played inter-county with Dublin. So, we had no real route other than to go into GAA. I'm the youngest of five, we were all started in the GAA. The path was there for me.”
Hetherton’s journey has been laden with silverware, but watching Anthony Daly’s stint in charge of the Dublin hurlers was an educational experience. Her father, Ciarán, was a selector during that memorable era in the capital, when all sorts of possibilities existed. “I was at a perfect age,” she recalls.
“I just tagged along with my Dad, so I'd have went to a lot of the Dublin hurling training sessions when I was around 10 at that time. Getting the youngest out of the house, it was probably the easiest to send me off with my Dad.
“So, I'd have been at an awful lot of their training sessions and games when Dad was involved. I enjoyed it and I was probably the perfect age to be looking up to the lads, thinking they were unreal. It was good.”
As a sporting education, it proved to be valuable. “Big time, when Mam and Dad were so heavily involved in their careers, you had no choice, but to go, I’m not complaining,” she says. “They'd have instilled in us from a young age.”
Whether in the Dublin, St Vincent’s or Clontarf jerseys, Hetherton relishes being involved in sport. “You couldn't do it if you didn't enjoy it because it is a big commitment and a big sacrifice that you do make,” she says.
“So, if you weren't enjoying it, you'd be miserable. Enjoying it is definitely one of the key parts and the friends you make from it, some of the closest friends I have are people I played with from underage all the way up. I'm still playing with them now.
Aoife Ni Cheallaigh, Galway, and Niamh Hetherton, Dublin, in All-Ireland Ladies Football SFC Quarter-Final action at Parnell Park. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
“The friendships you make and the enjoyment you get from it is definitely most important.
“The good days are definitely what makes it all worthwhile. You learn from the bad days, you come back stronger which is good. The good days are very good.”
Dublin’s All-Ireland Ladies Football triumph in 2023 brought plenty of satisfaction. This year’s quarter-final loss to Galway hurt, but Hetherton hopes Dublin can respond once again. “We had the disappointments in 2021 and 2022, we came back in 2023 and built from that,” Hetherton says.
“We can take learnings out of this year, obviously we were very disappointed with the result against Galway, but that is sport.
“We've been on the other side of it for a few years. We knew Galway were a strong side and that we couldn't take anything for granted, which we didn't.
“Just on the day, it didn't go our way. So, we were very disappointed with that result. Hopefully it will build us for next year and we can learn from the mistakes on that day.”
Dublin’s mixture of emerging and established players flourished in 2023. Hetherton remains optimistic about the future. “Big time, I think there was a lot of change in players last year, the turnover was massive,” she says.
“We probably had more new players than we did old which definitely helped freshen the team up. Overall, it grew us closer, you made more of an effort to make us all one. Definitely it worked out for us in the end.
“Last year was probably one of the best years, the biggest achievement was coming back from such a big turnover and getting the results. Learning from the setbacks and bringing in new players was definitely what got us over the line last year.”
