Irish Olympians’ son to train with Italian giants Juventus, AC Milan, Roma and Atalanta

Cathal Heffernan, the son of Olympians Rob and Marian Heffernan, has travelled to Italy to train with Serie A giants Juventus, AC Milan, Roma, and Atalanta.

The defender, who captained the Republic of Ireland u15s last year, also plays for Cork City’s u15s. Cathal also helped his school, Douglas Community School, win the 2020 FAI Schools Dr Tony O’Neill Senior Munster Cup. 

The school tweeted this morning that Cathal has set off for Italy and that he is a ‘credit to his school, his club Cork City, and his family.’

His father is a race walker who competed in five Olympic Games, half-a-dozen World Championships, two European Championships as well as five World Race Walking Cups. Rob's career achievements include winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and a Gold Medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.

Cathal's mother ran in Ireland's 4x400m relay team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Marian is fifth in the all-time Irish record books for the women's 400 metres.

The teenager's performances for club and country have attracted praise both for locally and nationally, with Cathal having a number of trials with overseas clubs in recent years. 

He is another success story from Ringmahon Rangers, the schoolboy club which has produced Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, Preston North End captain Alan Browne, and Cork City captain Gearóid Morrissey.

    About Dylan O'Connell

    Dylan is a freelance journalist based in Cork. He joined Extratime in 2016 and he covers games all across Ireland. His bylines include The Echo, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, The 42, RTÉ Sport, and Irish … View Full Profile