There has been a numbness in Donegal over the last few days as we come to terms with the death of James and Noreen McHugh.
It’s just absolutely heart-breaking and it’s been difficult to concentrate on anything else this week. It’s raw and emotional and everyone is devastated.
Life can be so cruel and you really feel for Emma and Eoin and the family as their lives have been turned upside down.
James and Noreen were a lovely couple and good company. They were together from a young age and obviously had a very tight bond which was evident when we would have met at various functions and trips down through the years.
I would have known of James from a young age, and you always hear about the best footballers in the area from when they start showing talent. James was a year older than me and the same age as my brother Michael and you would have heard people talking about how good a footballer he was.
His brothers Martin and Enda were also excellent footballers and they all represented Kilcar with distinction.
I would have come up against James and then played with him.
We were part of the Donegal minor team together in 1982.
I still had another year left and James was in his final season at that age grade and we had a decent year.
We won the Ulster Minor League that season and James was an influential player in that team.
It was surprising that he didn’t make his championship debut with Donegal until 1990.
He was a good underage player and would have been a central cog for Kilcar who were one of the best club teams in the county at that time.
You had Michael Carr and Martin McHugh and a host of good players and James would have carried a lot of ball for them.
He had to bide his time for the chance with the county.
You hear people talking sometimes about underrated players and James was probably one of those.
He wasn’t the biggest but there was very little he couldn’t do with the football.
He was brave, could tackle, carry the ball, and was a good scorer so he ticked most of the boxes and it didn’t take him long to establish himself when he got the chance.
We had an excellent team in 1992 and went on to win Ulster and the All-Ireland.
There’s no doubt that our half-forward line was one of the strongest in the country at that time.
James, Martin and Joyce McMullan brought plenty of skill and ability to the forward line and they mixed that with desire and workrate.
They all had good game awareness and fed good ball inside to the full-forward line.
I can’t imagine it was an enjoyable match if you were marking James McHugh.
He could run all day and had a good knack of getting into scoring positions.
When you look back at the video of the 1992 All-Ireland Final against Dublin, he had a really strong outing that day.
James scored a point and came very close to grabbing a goal.
He smacked a shot off the crossbar and if the ball had hit the net, it would probably have been regarded as one of the great All-Ireland Final goals.
Thankfully, Martin still got a point from the attack but that shot summed up James’s attitude that day. He showed courage to win the ball in the first place and then had a go. He wasn’t going to hold back or wait for someone else to go and do it. He was ready to make his mark on the big day.
James was as straight as they come and you always knew where you stood with him. In the dressing room, if something needed said, it would be said.
Seeing Mayo’s celebrations in recent weeks has brought me back to those special days in 1992.
People thought they would never see the day that Sam Maguire would come to Donegal and it was amazing to be part of it.
I think of bringing the cup back to the county and the celebrations that went on that week and over the months ahead.
There were trips away and big nights as we toasted the success.
James is the first player from the 1992 team to pass away and it’s so sad.
We don’t meet up as often as we should and it gets harder as the years go on with different commitments but we will always be linked as the first team to win the All-Ireland for Donegal.
When we did meet up over the years, you could be sure James would be in the corner when the craic and slagging was going.
Tony Boyle rang me to tell me the news on Monday evening and I just couldn’t believe it.
I have been talking to a few of the ’92 boys over the week and it’s so hard to comprehend.
We were hoping that Noreen would pull through but then the word came on Tuesday that she had also passed away.
I would have got to know Noreen on team holidays and trips and she was a real lady.
It just feels as if there has been a dark cloud over the county since.
I remember seeing their daughter Emma from when she was a young age, going along to games to support her daddy.
I know their son Eoin for many years and would have managed him with Donegal.
Just like his parents, Eoin is a great lad. Full of honesty and hard work on the pitch and a great personality off the field.
James and Noreen would always have been going to Eoin’s games to cheer him on and provide support.
It’s going to be a tough time ahead for Emma and Eoin but the McHugh and O’Donnell families are strong and will rally around.
The Kilcar GAA club is close-knit and so important to their community. They will be there for the family without a shadow of doubt.
It was testament to James that after his successful playing career, he got involved in coaching in Kilcar and managed the senior team to give back to the club that served him well.
We’re in the Club Championship now and the result of the match at the weekend always feels so important but then weeks like this give everyone perspective.
Family is so important and it’s devastating for the McHughs and O’Donnells. I hope they can find the strength they need going forward as they mourn the passing of two lovely people.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.