23-06-2025
Limerick hurler Gearoid Hegarty's relationship with sports star girlfriend
Gearoid Hegarty, a key player for the Limerick senior hurling team, has had a successful career since his debut in 2016.
He's won five All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships, six Munster Senior Hurling Championships and four National Hurling Leagues. However, Limerick won't be adding to their trophy haul this summer after suffering a shock defeat to Dublin over the weekend. Hegarty has also bagged four All-Stars and was named Hurler of the Year in 2020.
Away from the pitch, the St. Patrick's man works as a secondary school teacher and is in a relationship with fellow sports star Niamh McCarthy.
Hegarty was first called into the Limerick senior panel by then manager TJ Ryan in 2016, reports RSVP Live.
Two years later, he was part of the team that clinched the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
Between 2020 and 2023, he went on to win four more All-Ireland medals.
During this period, he also won six Munster Senior Hurling Championships and four National Hurling Leagues.
His stellar performances earned him four All-Stars and the title of Hurler of the Year in 2020.
For three seasons, the St. Patrick's man played as a dual player, making his debut in 2014 before stepping away in 2017.
Hegarty is currently dating McCarthy, who has represented Limerick at inter-county level in both Camogie and LGFA.
Niamh, a science teacher and club footballer with Dromcollogher/Broadford in Tipperary, has led the county's Ladies Football team to the All-Ireland Junior Football semi-final as captain.
The pair are no strangers to the limelight, often snapped on the red carpet at Dublin's glitzy All-Stars awards.
Together, they're proud pet parents to two dogs and enjoy jet-setting around the globe.
Gearoid works as a business teacher after graduating from University of Limerick.
"Teaching gets a bad rep in terms of GAA players going teaching and it really irritates me," he told the Irish Examiner.
"If you get into teaching for the holidays you will not last. You just will not last. I remember in college they used to say there are as many GAA players trying to get out of teaching as get into teaching.
"If you are going in every day Monday to Friday and just trying to get to June, what a miserable way to live."
Gearoid towers at 6 ft 4 in and was born in August 1994, which puts him at 30 years old.
He is 6 ft 4 in height. He plays his club hurling in St. Patrick's in Limerick city.
Gearoid's father, Ger, is also a well-known figure in hurling, having played for Limerick and featured in the 1994 All-Ireland final against Offaly at Croke Park.
However, he joked that he is not a"nepo baby"in any way.
"You need a bit of luck along the way too," he told the Irish Examiner. "And I was probably lucky that my father had hurled for Limerick for so long.
"That probably gave me a leg up when I needed it, at times."
The GAA star continued: "He used always say, 'all you can do is your best'. He is the eternal optimist. Whenever we weren't going too well, back in the day, his phrase was 'that's the best thing that ever happened ye'.
"Whether you won by 10 points or lost by 10 points it was 'that's the best thing that ever happened ye'. Especially the losses. 'Ye learned a lot today'."
Gearoid was rocked by speculation that he was leaving the Limerick panel after he was dropped ahead of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship game against Clare.
"First thing, there was absolutely nothing to it. There was no truth to any of the rumours," he told the Irish Independent at the time.
"The boys got a great kick out of it. I had to hear about it for the next four, or five sessions. The first session back after the so-called rumour (leaving the squad) broke, the boys were slagging, 'Jesus, I didn't think I'd see you here this morning'," the GAA star said.
"[Fellow Limerick hurler Darragh] O'Donovan was giving me an awful ear's abuse. I had to hear about it for a good few training sessions after that, but I don't know where it came from. I don't know what happened."
However, the rumour really affected Gearóid's family. "My mother and my grandmother didn't take it well and they were quite upset with the rumours.
"I'm a young man, I'm only 29. I have to go to work and deal with these things. I'd be thick-skinned, I take criticism pretty well, but, as I said, the team behind the player, in terms of my family, it was really tough for them because they can't do anything about it."
Five All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships - 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Six Munster Senior Hurling Championship - 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Four All-Stars - 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
One Hurler of the Year - 2020
