One of the most famous sportspeople in Ireland, race walker Rob Heffernan finished first in the World Championships in Athletics 50km event in 2013 and took bronze in the 2012 Olympic Games. He is married to fellow athlete Marian Heffernan, and is dad to four children.
Rob’s daughter Meghan Carr (22) is playing League of Ireland football with Waterford, son Cathal plays for Newcastle United, and daughters Regan (11) and Tara (10) are involved in gymnastics.
He is a youth ambassador for Bank of Ireland, a performance coach with the Cork senior footballers, and he and Marian established Cork City AC to promote athletics in the Cork area.
Here Rob shares his favourite things to do on a weekend in Cork, from local walks to great food and favourite coffee spots.
Friday
My 9-5 job during the week involves visiting some of the 40 schools I work with in Cork, and chatting to the students about finance, business, preparing their CVs and interview skills. And then, on Friday, my weekend starts when I record Red Raw, my podcast with hilarious comedian Laura O’Mahony, which is one of the highlights of my week.
The studio is in the process of being built at the top of Laura’s house, and it’s in an absolutely beautiful location overlooking the River Lee, Parc Uí Chaoimh and the Marina promenade. I look forward to the podcast every week, because we go over what we’re doing in our lives, and it’s always done with a bit of seriousness and a lot of humour. We’re two different people with different backgrounds and different passions, but we’re the same in lots of ways.
After that, I’d head off on my own to The Black Market in the Marina, maybe for a bit of lunch. I like going there for a bite to eat, and I might open up my computer and do some bits and pieces while I’m there. I go for the healthy stir-fry and I might have coffee and a cake afterwards.
Most Friday nights revolve around training and sports. When that’s not on, it’s time to relax at home at the end of a busy week, because the weekend is always hectic.
Saturday
I bring my daughters to gymnastics at 8.30am. Regan made the Irish Olympic starter squad, and Tara made the development squad and they came away with one gold, two silver and one bronze medals between them at the National Gymnastics Championships last month. While the girls are at gymnastics, Marian and I head to the MTU track where we coach the kids for Cork City AC. We set up the club three years ago and have 200 members and we have had so much success this year. We train most days of the week.
After that, we head to Dunnes Stores to get sushi to bring home, as we always have it on a Saturday. While we’re there, we might head into Three Fools Coffee in Douglas Court to have coffee and a cake.
We don’t get to do a lot of socialising as weekends are always manic. I could be gone up the country with the Cork footballers or the girls could have a soccer match, or they could have races or competitions. So if we do have a night off, we’d spend it relaxing with a meal at home and a glass of wine, because Sundays are always hectic as well. I cook the odd time but I wouldn’t be boasting about it. I’m no Jamie Oliver. Marian is good but she’s not massively into it either. She wouldn’t be Darina Allen or Derval O’Rourke but she’s good, like.
Sunday
There are usually competitions every week, between Munster championships, All-Irelands etc. When the Cork footballers are playing, I could be double-jobbing, so I could go off with them to a Munster match, and then rush back to the athletic competitions with Marian and the kids again.
If I did have a bit of time off on a Sunday, I might head over for a run to Tramore Valley Park where the Rob Heffernan Walk has been named after me. As a family, we love going for a walk down to the Marina promenade, and we might head to Cortado Coffee for coffee and a cake and then stroll back. I think that Blackrock village and the Marina are as nice as any place in the world.
Because it’s so hectic, we don’t get to spend much time with friends at weekends, but if we had a bit of time, we might take a trip down to see Derval O’Rourke in Crosshaven. Our son Cathal was home for a month recently and has just gone back to Newcastle. Any time we get a bit of spare time, we’re on a flight over to him. We miss him but we’re massively proud of him, as we are of all our kids. Meghan got her degree in exercise sciences in Waterford and she’s playing League of Ireland football for Waterford so she’s absolutely flying as well.
We went away to Greece a while ago and had a great time, as it was absolutely lovely. We did a bit of exercise and went out to nice restaurants at night and had a couple of glasses of wine, so it was a really nice balance. Our social life wouldn’t be hectic because we are so busy, but that will change as the kids get older and we love what we do anyway.
Cork Quickfire – The Local Lowdown with Rob Heffernan
Beamish or Murphy’s?
That’s a tough one. It all depends if it’s a real Cork pub,, where you’d have to go with Beamish, but I’d usually drink Murphy’s,
Cork’s best chipper? I’m going to go back to my youth and say Dino’s in Turner’s Cross.
Have you:
Rung the Shandon bells? I haven’t.
Kissed the Blarney Stone? I haven’t.
Eaten tripe and drisheen? I have. We used to have it most Fridays at home when I was growing up and I loved it.
Who would you nominate for the best Corkonian of all time? My good friend Sonia O’Sullivan. She’s a great sports person and she broke so many barriers back in the day. I think her achievements, talent, drive and attitude are built into a load of areas, and she made us believe that we could achieve on the big stage as well.
Favourite Place in Cork: I love Blackrock. I love the promenade and Blackrock village. I run down there most days, and it’s beautiful and right on my doorstep. It’s only about 500 metres from my house, and I feel privileged to live there.
Sum up Cork in three words…. Authentic, successful, great sense of humour.
Join Rob for the Rob Heffernan Cork City AC Mile on September 12th, where he will host a night dedicated to the magic of the mile. Head to Blackrock Marina for an electric evening of fast racing, community atmosphere, and a celebration of Irish athletics at its best. The race is open to all levels from beginners to elite racers, and there will also be children’s races. Whether you’re chasing a PB or just soaking in the spectacle, this is one night you won’t want to miss. See https://eventmaster.ie/event/bJRYI9AHjr
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