Cathal Heffernan
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cathal Séan Heffernan Andrews [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 April 2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newcastle United | ||
| Number | 38 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2019 | Ringmahon Rangers | ||
| 2019–2021 | Cork City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2022 | Cork City | 1 | (0) |
| 2022 | → AC Milan (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | AC Milan | 0 | (0) |
| 2023– | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Republic of Ireland U15 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U16 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U17 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U18 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U19 | |||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:49, 16 October 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14:49, 16 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
Cathal Séan Heffernan Andrews (born 27 April 2005) is an Irish footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Newcastle United.
Early and personal life
Heffernan was born in Cork.[2] His father Rob and mother Marian are both Olympians, in race walking and 400m relay respectively.[3]
Club career
Heffernan began his career with Ringmahon Rangers, signing for Cork City in 2019.[4] He made his senior debut for Cork City in the 2021 season.[3] In March 2021 he trained with Italian clubs Juventus, AC Milan, Roma and Atalanta,[5][6] and turned professional with Cork in June 2021.[4]
He moved on loan to AC Milan in January 2022.[3][7][8][9][10][11] He made his debut for Milan's under-18 team a few days later.[12] In May 2022 he made his debut for the under-19 team.[13]
His transfer to Milan was made permanent in June 2022.[14][15] He joined English club Newcastle United in August 2023.[16]
International career
Heffernan has played for the Republic of Ireland at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 level.[3][17]
Career statistics
- As of match played on 15 October 2025[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cork City | 2021 | LOI First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Newcastle United U21 | 2023–24 | — | — | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | — | — | — | 3[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2025–26 | — | — | — | 2[b] | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |||||
| Career total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||
References
- ^ "Biografia". AC Milan.
- ^ Fennessy, Paul. "'For us, it was never about him making it as a soccer player'". The42.
- ^ a b c d "Heffernan, 16, confirms AC Milan move". BBC Sport.
- ^ a b Claffey, Martin (16 June 2021). "Cork City sign Ireland U16 international Cathal Heffernan, son of world champion Rob, to pro deal". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "15-year-old son of Olympians Rob and Marian Heffernan set to train with Juventus and AC Milan". independent.
- ^ "Cathal Heffernan to train with four Serie A giants". 9 March 2021 – via www.rte.ie.
- ^ "Cathal Heffernan: Cork City teenager and Republic of Ireland U17 captain heads to AC Milan in dream move". Sky Sports.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Conor. "Ireland's U17 captain Cathal Heffernan seals loan move to Italian giants AC Milan". The Irish Post.
- ^ McCadden, Mark (31 January 2022). "The inside story of Cathal Heffernan's transfer to AC Milan". Buzz.ie.
- ^ McCadden, Mark (31 January 2022). "Cork City kid Cathal Heffernan to join Italian giants AC Milan". Cork Beo.
- ^ McCadden, Mark (1 February 2022). "Cathal Heffernan opens up on dream AC Milan move as he thanks Stephen Ireland". Irish Mirror.
- ^ Rountree, Sara; Donovan, Shane (6 February 2022). "Cork's Cathal Heffernan celebrates first win with teammates after Milan signing". Cork Beo.
- ^ Fallon, John (15 May 2022). "Cathal Heffernan takes another step on path to Milan first-team". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "Irish teenager Heffernan joins AC Milan". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Cork native Cathal Heffernan completes permanent transfer to AC Milan". 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Irish defender Cathal Heffernan joins Newcastle United". 16 August 2023.
- ^ Cathal Heffernan at WorldFootball.net
- ^ https://int.soccerway.com/player/heffernan-cathal/OdKYqKjO/