John Heslin
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Seán Ó hEislin | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Full Forward | ||
| Born |
27 June 1992 Mullingar, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Occupation | Ruminant Product Manager | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| St Loman's | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Westmeath titles | 4 | ||
| Colleges(s) | |||
| Years | College | ||
| UCD | |||
| College titles | |||
| Sigerson titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2011–2025 | Westmeath | 38 (4–168) | |
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of match played 15 June 2024. | |||
John Heslin (born 27 June 1992) is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Westmeath county team[1] between the 2011 and 2024 seasons, and also an Australian rules footballer for the Irish Warriors. Heslin was drafted by Australian Football League club Richmond in 2011, with Pick #90 of the Rookie Draft, but left after just three months, without playing a single game.
Playing career
[edit]Gaelic football
[edit]The St Loman's[2] clubman represented University College Dublin in the Sigerson Cup and Westmeath at all levels and starred as Westmeath reached the Leinster Under-21 Football Championship final. He also played in two games of the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and went on to become a permanent fixture in the Westmeath team.
Heslin scored 1–9 in the 2015 Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final vctory over Meath, his team winning the game despite having to make up 11 points and not having beaten Meath for a long time.[3]
He was a playing member of the team when Westmeath won the 2019 National Football League Division 3 league title by a goal against Laois at Croke Park.[4]
In the 2022 Tailteann Cup final he overtook Dessie Dolan as Westmeath's all-time championship top scorer.[5]
He retired from inter-county football in January 2025.[3]
Australian football
[edit]Heslin represented the Ireland national Australian rules football team, that won the 2011 Australian Football International Cup and kicked four goals in the tournament.
Richmond Football Club
[edit]Heslin joined the Tigers as a rookie in the 2012 Pre-season Draft.[6][7][8][9] After only three months on the Tigers' rookie list, homesickness proved too much for the St Loman's clubman, and he resumed his inter-county career with Westmeath.[10]
Career Statistics
[edit]As of match played 15 June 2024
| Team | Year | National League | Leinster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Westmeath | 2011 | Division 3 | 1 | 0-01 | 1 | 0-04 | ||||
| 2012 | Division 2 | 1 | 0-05 | 2 | 0-09 | |||||
| 2013 | 7 | 2-32 | 2 | 0-10 | 1 | 1-05 | ||||
| 2014 | Division 1 | 4 | 0-21 | 1 | 0-03 | 1 | 0-04 | |||
| 2015 | Division 2 | 7 | 0-32 | 4 | 1-26 | — | ||||
| 2016 | Division 3 | 7 | 1-31 | 3 | 0-15 | 1 | 0-10 | |||
| 2017 | Division 4 | 8 | 3-60 | 3 | 1-14 | 1 | 0-06 | |||
| 2018 | Division 3 | 6 | 1-36 | 1 | 0-00 | — | ||||
| 2019 | 1 | 0-01 | 2 | 0-01 | ||||||
| 2020 | Division 2 | 7 | 1-22 | 1 | 0-03 | — | ||||
| 2021 | 2 | 0-13 | — | |||||||
| 2022 | Division 3 | 2 | 1-09 | — | ||||||
| 2023 | 6 | 3-32 | 1 | 0-03 | 3 | 0-16 | ||||
| 2024 | 1 | 0-02 | 2 | 0-08 | ||||||
| Career total | 24 | 3-105 | 14 | 1-63 | 35 | 4-158 | ||||
Honours
[edit]- Westmeath
- Individual
- Tailteann Cup Team of the Year (1): 2022
References
[edit]- ^ "John heslin Photos - Sportsfile Pictures - Sports Photography Agency Ireland".
- ^ "Weekend GAA club championship match previews - SportsNewsIreland SportsNewsIreland Live Scores". 2 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Westmeath ace Heslin retires from inter-county football". Hogan Stand. 4 January 2025.
- ^ Keane, Paul (6 April 2019). "Westmeath claim more silverware with Division 3 success". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "Heslin moves to top of Westmeath scoring charts". Hogan Stand. 12 July 2022.
- ^ IC11 Squad - Super Warriors named
- ^ IC11 Preview - Warriors unearth Irish talent Down Under
- ^ Westmeath's Heslin joins AFL exodus Archived 2011-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tigers sign Westmeath rookie Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Irish AFL rookie leaves Tigers Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine