Niamh Hetherton: 'You couldn't do it if you didn't enjoy it'

Michael Bolton

For Dublin's Niamh Hetherton, her journey to the inter-county football began as a child, as she looked up to her parents who both represented Dublin.

Having played both camogie and football, GAA has been central to Niamh's life, with childhood memories of watching the Dublin hurlers when her father was a selector under Anthony Daly.

The youngest of five and spending her time in a sporting family, the path to the blue jersey was in the pipeline.

“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.

“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.”

Whether it be camogie with St Vincent's, football with Clontarf or in the Dublin jersey, success has followed her everywhere she has been.

The commitment and sacrifice for all three teams would take its toll on anyone, but Hetherton points to the enjoyment she gets from 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.

"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"

Since coming into the Dublin team in 2019, Niamh's inter-county career has been filled with silverware.

However, this year, Dublin suffered a shock defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-finals,

While Niamh was disappointed by the defeat, she is confident the girls in blue can respond in 2025, having responded in 2023 by winning the All-Ireland after coming up short in 2021 and 2022.

"We thought that we could build on last year. The competition within the squad was one of the highest it has been, but we suffered a few setbacks before the Galway game losing three of our starting forwards.

"We did still think we had the depth in the squad to get over the line, but I just do think the day it just didn't go our way. It was just our shooting that let us down on the day."

The 2024 championship was one of the most open and competitive in ladies football, with Dublin's exit in the quarter-finals, combined with Galway's journey to the final, two of the biggest storylines of the season.

While the Dublin forward acknowledged the standard of the game is rising, Hetherton was not surprised by Galway's progress.

"I don't think anyone would have said Galway were not deserving of that win. They have always been really competitive.

"We played them in the final in 2019, so they have always been there, there about, their club success with Kilkerrin-Clonberne is leading into it.

"We kind of knew Galway were the strongest side we could have played that day, and they were very deserving of their win that day."