Hegarty first came to prominence as a hurler withCastletroy College. On 19 October 2011, he was a forward on the first Castletroy College team to play in theHarty Cup.[5]
During his studies at theUniversity of Limerick, Hegarty was selected for the college's senior hurling team. On 24 February 2018, he won aFitzgibbon Cup medal following UL's 2-21 to 2-15 defeat ofDublin City University in the final.[6] Hegarty was also a regular for the University of Limerick football team in theSigerson Cup.[7]
Hegarty joined the St. Patrick's club at a young age and played in all grades as adual player at juvenile and underage levels. On 12 October 2014, Hegarty was at full forward when St. Patrick's were defeated byBallylanders in the final of theLimerick Football Championship.[8]
Hegarty first played for Limerick as a Gaelic footballer with the under-21 team. He made his first appearance in a 3-15 to 0-08Munster Championship defeat byCork on 19 March 2014.[9]
Hegarty became a dual under-21 player in 2015 and won aMunster Championship medal after a 0-22 to 0-19 win overClare in the final.[10][11] On 12 September 2015, Hegarty was at midfield when Limerick defeatedWexford by 0-26 to 1-07 in theAll-Ireland final.[12]
Hegarty first played at senior level as a member of the Limerick senior football team. He made his first appearance in a 2-11 to 0-11 defeat ofLongford in theNational Football League on 9 February 2014.[13] Hegarty later made his first championship start on a 2-14 to 1-11 defeat byTipperary in theMunster Championship.
Hegarty played in the early rounds of the National Football League in 2016 before joining the Limerick senior hurling team. He made his first appearance for the hurlers on 13 March 2016, replacingSeánie O'Brien at half-time in a 6-29 to 1-12 defeat ofLaois at theGaelic Grounds.[14] Hegarty later made his first championship appearance in a 3-12 to 1-16 defeat by Tipperary.[15]
In 2017 Hegarty left the Limerick senior football team and committed solely to the hurlers after an end to the facilitating of dual players.[16]
On 19 August 2018, Hegarty was at right wing-forward when Limerick won their firstAll-Ireland title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat ofGalway in the final.[17] He ended the season by being nominated for anAll-Star Award.[18]
On 31 March 2019, Hegarty was selected at right wing-forward for Limerick'sNational League final meeting withWaterford atCroke Park. He collected a winners' medal after scoring three points from play in the 1-24 to 0-19 victory.[19] On 30 June 2019, Hegarty won aMunster Championship medal after scoring three points from right wing-forward in Limerick's 2-26 to 2-14 defeat ofTipperary in thefinal.[20]
Hegarty won his fourthAll Star at the end of the 2024 season.[21]
