Eoin McHugh (born 1994/95) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who plays for Cill Chartha and the Donegal county team. He is the only son of James McHugh, a member of the team that defeated

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. His uncle

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

was also a member of that team.

Playing career

Club

With his club Cill Chartha, McHugh won the 2012 Donegal Minor Football Championship. He scored six points in the final and his use of both feet in executing these scores during a man of the match display was praised in the press. McHugh won the

2017 Donegal Senior Football Championship The 2017 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 95th official edition of Donegal GAA's premier Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Donegal. Sixteen teams competed, with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulste ...

. It was the first time his club had won the title in 24 years.

Inter-county

McHugh was an "experiment" of

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is a Gaelic football coach, and former player, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as a player with, and later manager of, the Donegal county team. Since 2023, he has been manager, for ...

during the

2013 Dr McKenna Cup The 2013 Dr McKenna Cup was a Gaelic football competition played under the auspices of Ulster GAA. The tournament features the 2012 All-Ireland Champions, Donegal, whose first game (away against Fermanagh) was put back for several days due to ...

, with McGuinness giving him his debut in a defeat of St Mary's at

MacCumhaill Park MacCumhaill Park () is a GAA stadium in Ballybofey, County Donegal, Ireland. It is the home ground of the Seán MacCumhaills club and Donegal's Gaelic football and hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient ...

. He continued to play for his county at under-age level. He lost three

Ulster Under-21 Football Championship The Ulster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Ulster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest in ...

finals. Then, at the age of twenty, McGuinness's successor

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

called McHugh into the team in 2015. He started Gallagher's first match in charge, a

2015 Dr McKenna Cup The 2015 Dr McKenna Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup, was an inter-county and colleges hurling competition in the province of Ulster. As well as the nine county teams, three colleges' teams competed: St Mar ...

away defeat to

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. Later the same month, McHugh contracted

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

, was unable to leave his bed on the morning after playing

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

, and his weight went from eleven to nine

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

: "That was pretty much the season gone… I tried to play with Donegal U21s, tried to play with the seniors, but I'd lost that much weight it ruined my season, ruled me out", he was later quoted by ''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...

''. In the 2015 National Football League, he was limited to two late substitute appearances against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

and Kerry. He started the fifth fixture against Kerry at

Austin Stack Park Austin Stack Park is a GAA stadium in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is one of the stadiums used by Kerry GAA's Gaelic football team and the stadium of the hurling team. The ground was named after Austin Stack, an Irish revolutionary and ...

and contributed 0–4. Donegal qualified for the NFL semi-final. McHugh started this game but was substituted in the second half. McHugh, having overcome his meningitis, was more involved with his county team in the 2016 season; he started the first four games of the 2016 National Football League, against Down, Cork, Mayo and Kerry. He also started the fifth fixture against Roscommon and scored a point. He then started against Dublin in the sixth fixture at Croke Park. He also scored a point against Monaghan in the seventh fixture but later went off injured. Donegal qualified for the NFL semi-final. McHugh did not play in this game. McHugh started the final of the 2016 Ulster Senior Football Championship and played most of that game. He had earlier scored two points in the quarter-final against Fermanagh, one point in the semi-final (drawn game) against

and also played in the semi-final replay. McHugh scored 0–2 in the

2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 129th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA's premier inter-county gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. 33 teams took part. 31 of the 32 Counties of Ire ...

qualifier defeat of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

at Croke Park. He then started against Dublin in the next game, at the same venue. He was awarded an ''

Irish News Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

'' All Star for his performances during the 2016 season. McHugh made a substitute appearance in the opening fixture of the

2017 National Football League The 2017 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Football League, was the 86th staging of the National Football League, an annual Gaelic football tournament for Gaelic Athletic Association county teams. Thirty-o ...

against Kerry and scored 0–1. He scored the winning point in injury time away to

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

in the second fixture, a victory which provided his team with their first points of the season. He started the third fixture against Dublin. He started the fourth fixture against Cavan and scored 1–1. He started the fifth fixture against Tyrone and scored 0–1. He did likewise in the sixth fixture against Monaghan. He made a substitute appearance in the seventh fixture against Mayo. During the 2017 Ulster Senior Football Championship, he made a substitute appearance against Antrim in the quarter-final and played in most of the semi-final defeat to Tyrone. He also started both the

2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 130th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887. Thirty-three teams took part – thirty-one of t ...

qualifier defeat of Meath at

Páirc Tailteann Páirc Tailteann () is a GAA stadium in Navan, County Meath, Ireland. It is the home of the Meath Gaelic football and Hurling teams. The ground has had a capacity of between 30,000 and 33,000, but following a safety audit in 2011 the GAA reduc ...

and the qualifier loss to Galway at

Markievicz Park Markievicz Park () is the principal GAA stadium in County Sligo, Ireland, home to the Sligo Gaelic football and hurling teams. Built in 1955 in Sligo town (due mostly to Seán Forde who single-handedly gathered the funds necessary to build the ...

. McHugh did not play for Donegal in the 2018 season. He wished to complete his studies at Ulster University Jordanstown. He graduated in

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

. He then went to the United States. There, he won the

Boston Senior Football Championship The Boston Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition, played in the Boston region of America. The competition is organised by the Northeast Division Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The games are played at the I ...

with Donegal Boston. Under the management of

Declan Bonner Declan Bonner (born 11 August 1965) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played at senior level for the Donegal county team, winning an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team ...

, McHugh returned ahead of the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, with a noticeably stronger physique, playing in the opening McKenna Cup game against

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

. He made a late substitute appearance against

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

in the second fixture of the 2019 National Football League, scoring a point. He made another substitute appearance in the fourth fixture against Fermanagh. doing likewise in the fifth fixture against

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, the sixth fixture against Cork and the seventh fixture against

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

. Donegal qualified for the National Football League Division 2 final and McHugh made a substitute appearance in the game as Donegal defeated Meath to win the title. He did not feature in the final of the

2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship The 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship is the 131st instalment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship organised by Ulster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Th ...

, which Donegal won. However, he featured as a late substitute against Fermanagh in the quarter-final, then started and scored a point in his team's semi-final win over Tyrone. He was one of the few players to receive a first Ulster Senior Football Championship medal and the only non-

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

yet to receive an Ulster medal of any kind (

Jason McGee Jason McGee (born 1997/8) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cloich Cheann Fhaola and the Donegal county team. He is a former Australian rules football trialist. Playing career Minor McGee has an Ulster Minor Football Championship m ...

had an

Ulster Minor Football Championship The Ulster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council. The trophy for the winning side is T ...

medal). McHugh started Donegal's first three fixtures of the 2020 National Football League against Mayo, Meath and Galway. He made substitute appearances against Dublin and Monaghan in the next two fixtures. Then the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

brought play to a halt. Play resumed

behind closed doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...

on 18 October with a home game against Tyrone; McHugh did not feature in that game. He made a substitute appearance in the concluding game of the league campaign, away to Kerry. McHugh made an early substitute appearance in the

2020 Ulster Senior Football Championship The 2020 Ulster Senior Football Championship is the 132nd installment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship organised by Ulster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. ...

quarter-final victory against Tyrone. He started the semi-final victory against Armagh. He also started the Ulster final against Cavan in what proved to be the season's concluding game for his team. McHugh made substitute appearances in each of Donegal's first three fixtures of the 2021 National Football League, against Tyrone, Monaghan and Armagh, scoring one point against Monaghan. He started the 2021 National Football League semi-final against Dublin.

Personal life

McHugh went to Boston in 2018 aware that he would have a job in

at AIB in

when he returned to Ireland. In mid-2019, he went back to live in Kilcar and took up the post of Marketing and Regulations Manager at Ocean Knowledge there. His cousin and (teammate at club and with county)

Ryan McHugh Ryan McHugh (born 11 April 1994) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Cill Chartha and the Donegal county team. He is the brother of Mark and the son of Martin. A former county minor, McHugh propelled himself onto the national stage in ...

also works there. Ocean Knowledge makes two kinds of fertilsers from a western Ireland (mostly Donegal) based

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

known as

Ascophyllum Nodosum ''Ascophyllum nodosum'' is a large, common cold water seaweed or brown alga ( Phaeophyceae) in the family Fucaceae. Its common names include knotted wrack, egg wrack, feamainn bhuí, rockweed, knotted kelp and Norwegian kelp. It grows only in the ...

. This is then distributed internationally to sports venues, such as stadiums and

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

s for use on their grass. Among the venues which deal with Ocean Knowledge are the Bernabeu, Croke Park and London's

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

. The McHugh cousins, Eoin and Ryan, often play

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

together.

Honours

;Donegal *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* National Football League Division 2:

;Cill Chartha *

Donegal Senior Football Championship The Donegal Senior Football Championship (abbreviated as Donegal SFC) is an annual football competition organised by Donegal GAA and contested by the highest-level clubs, to determine the best team in County Donegal. Since 2016, it has been know ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* Donegal Minor Football Championship: 2012 ;Donegal Boston *

: 2018 ;Individual * ''

'' All Star: 2016 * Donegal Minor Football Championship Man of the Match: 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Eoin 1990s births Living people Donegal Boston Gaelic footballers Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers

Eoin Eoin () is a masculine Irish-language given name. The Scottish Gaelic equivalent is Eòin () and both are closely related to the Welsh language, Welsh . It is also cognate with the Irish and English John (given name), John. In the Irish language, ...

Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Irish marketing people Kilcar Gaelic footballers