At club level he played with Glenmore and was also a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling team.
[1] Heffernan first appeared on the inter-county scene as part of the Kilkenny team that won the All-Ireland Minor Championship title in 1981, before later winning an All-Ireland Under-21 Championship title in 1984.
His underage and club successes saw him drafted onto the Kilkenny senior hurling team alongside his brother Christy in 1984.
Over the course of the following decade Heffernan made a number of Walsh Cup, National League and championship appearances but failed to break onto the starting fifteen on a regular basis.
He was a non-playing substitute for two All-Ireland finals and, after defeat by Tipperary in 1991, claimed a winners' medal against Galway in 1993.