Kevin McHugh (born 19 January 1980) is an Irish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and manager of

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

. Considered one of Donegal's best-known sportstars, McHugh is fifth in the all-time League of Ireland goalscoring list with 174 league goals.

Career

McHugh was born in

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

and raised in the border town of Killea in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Finn Harps

McHugh scored and made his debut for

Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, the ...

-side,

, against Fanad United in the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

as just a novice 17-year-old in August 1998. He went on to make 184 appearances for the side, building up a reputation as one of the deadliest forwards in the Irish game by scoring 110 league goals. In 2005, the striker became one of just five then-current players to join the 38-strong group of players to have scored 100 or more

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

goals in the modern era. McHugh scored his 99th and 100th League of Ireland goals at Finn Park on 22 October 2005 as Harps thrashed Longford 5-0. Despite the relegation of Finn Harps from the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

, McHugh finished third highest scorer in the 2005 season with 13 goals. He attracted the attention of other clubs, including Shelbourne and

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

, before the beginning of the 2006 season. Only Brendan Bradley has scored more goals than McHugh for Finn Harps. In his first spell at the club, the Killea man scored 122 goals in 248 games for Harps and was top scorer for the club in six successive seasons from 2000/01 until he left Finn Park in 2005. He was top scorer in the First Division three times in a row with Harps.

Linfield

McHugh signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Linfield in January 2009. Kevin scored his first Linfield goal on his first start with a last gasp winner at home to Institute. He had a setback at the start of the next season, with a serious hamstring injury. This left him sidelined for over 4 months, never recovered and left and returned to Finn Park for their preseason.

Return to Finn Harps

McHugh signed back for Harps in February 2010 In his first three seasons back with the Ballybofey club he has scored 36 goals, 12 in his first season, 11 in his second and 13 goals in 2012 making him ninth in the all-time League of Ireland goalscoring list with 154 league goals. His testimonial was contested by a

Donegal GAA The Donegal County Board () or Donegal GAA is one of 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Donegal. The County Board is responsible for prepari ...

select and a Finn Harps select at Finn Park, with one half

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 ...

and the other half soccer. In October 2016, McHugh suffered a freak injury while hosting an under-age coaching session in Donegal. When he was jumping over a gate to get a set of goalposts, his wedding ring got caught in the fence and he severed a finger. The finger was too badly damaged to be repaired and the injury ended his football career.

Kildrum Tigers

McHugh has also played for Kildrum Tigers.

Managerial career

Finn Harps (2016-)

McHugh joined the Academy setup in

soon after his retirement from playing professional football. In November 2016, McHugh was named as the manager of the Finn Harps under-15 team for the inaugural

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

under-15 season. In 2017, McHugh was named Head of Finn Harps Academy. In 2024, following a disastorous season for the Harps first team on the pitch, the club appointed Darren Murphy as manager with McHugh joining Murphy as assistant manager for the 2024 season. The season came close to a play-off spot with Harps finishing 6th place in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. Murphy departed the club in 2025 to take up a managerial role at

Loughall Loughgall ( ; ) is a small village, townland (of 131 acres) and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the historic baronies of Armagh and Oneilland West. It had a population of 282 people (in 116 households) as of the 2011 ce ...

with McHugh taking on an interim managerial role. On 2 April 2025, McHugh was appointed first-team manager of Finn Harps.

Honours

;Individual *

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

Player of the Year ** 2002,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

League of Ireland First Division Top Scorer A list of League of Ireland top scorers. A Division ;Notes Premier Division First Division ;Notes All–Time ;Notes References {{League of Ireland Top Ireland Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dial ...

** 2001–02, 2002–03,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: 4 ;

: 1 ; Derry City *

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: 1 *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: 1

References

External links

*
BBC Sport Online – ''Derry City capture striker McHugh'' (2006-01-05)

Kevin McHugh Signs For Linfield
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McHugh, Kevin 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Letterkenny Association footballers from County Donegal Men's association football forwards Republic of Ireland men's association footballers League of Ireland players NIFL Premiership players Finn Harps F.C. players Omagh Town F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Kildrum Tigers F.C. players 21st-century Irish sportsmen Irish association football managers Finn Harps F.C. managers