At club level he played with Nenagh Éire Óg and was also a member of the Tipperary senior hurling team.
Heffernan first played juvenile and underage hurling with the Nenagh Éire Óg club before joining the club's top adult team.
[1] His performances for the club brought him to the attention of the Tipperary minor team selectors, and he had two seasons in that grade.
Heffernan progressed onto the Tipperary under-21 team and won three consecutive All-Ireland Under-21 Championship titles from 1979 to 1981.
He lined out with the Tipperary senior hurling team for two seasons but made his only championship appearance when he came on as a substitute for Pat Fitzelle in the 1984 Munster final defeat by Cork.