By Diarmuid Sherry
The GAA season was over and winter was coming. Lynda Heffernan needed a sport to keep active in the next few colder months but options were few. Matters would have to be taken into her own hands so she rounded up all she knew to begin some rugby training at the Mullingar RFC grounds. Soon, more girls began to train. Up to 15, then 20 and then 25 girls would come to give the egg-shaped ball a try. One of the new attendees was Lynda’s younger sister, first-year student Katie Heffernan.
From those early days being taken to training for a new game by her older sister, Katie’s sporting trajectory would rise dramatically, so far representing her country for over 70 matches and aiming for Olympic gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Women’s Rugby Sevens.
