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
Gaelic football
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
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
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
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
- Westmeath
- Individual
- Tailteann Cup Team of the Year (1): 2022
References
- ^ "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