Mark McHugh

Early life

McHugh is the son of Martin, the BBC television analyst and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winner in 1992. He was born the Wednesday after his father's Donegal side were defeated by Meath in the semi-final of the 1990 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. His son Ryan also plays for the Donegal minor team. Mark McHugh's uncle James also played in the 1992 All-Ireland Final and received an All Star in 1992. He has a dog called Miley, who has been photographed inside the Sam Maguire Cup. Miley is named after J. R. Ewing's dog from the U.S. TV show Dallas.

Club

McHugh admits his club does not have many big games.

Inter-county

McHugh did not play at minor level, what with the Leaving Certificate and a broken collar bone. He made his senior championship debut as a substitute against Down in Ballybofey in 2010. He was part of the 2011 team that won the Ulster Senior Football Championship, and played in the final against Derry.

McHugh returned to the Ulster Senior Football Championship Final in 2012 in his third campaign, before helping Donegal all the way to the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final in which he played. After that game he said, "The woman I'm going to have to marry is going to have to be very, very good to top this day off for me". McHugh sang his wee heart out at the homecoming when he joined in with Rory Gallagher on "Jimmy's Winning Matches".

McHugh missed Donegal's 2013 National Football League campaign with a pelvis injury. He returned for the 2013 Ulster Senior Football Championship but was forced off injured early on the final after a collision with Stephen Gollogly of Monaghan, and was hospitalised as a result. He was ruled out for a month with the multiple injuries Gollogly's rough play gave him, including concussion, a perforated eardrum and a quad muscle injury.

McHugh made a substitute appearance against Monaghan in the 2014 National Football League Division 2 Final at Croke Park. Three days later, it was confirmed that McHugh was one of four players to have left the Donegal county panel, less than a month before the county's Ulster Championship game against Derry. Later he admitted, "I just needed a break. I wasn't enjoying what I was doing and me being there didn't help the mood in the camp. And I thought its [sic] not good for me being here and it’s probably not good for other players so I stepped away. Going away was a decision I made and I knew I wouldn't be in the team if I stepped away. I made that decision." In his absence Donegal qualified for a second All-Ireland final in three years, with McHugh's brother Ryan helping himself to two goals against Dublin in the semi-final after being left to the bus by Mark, who sat by "and watched as he became a household name in one afternoon". Ahead of the final McHugh the Elder admitted he was "looking forward to [...] rebuilding for next year of myself and the club championship, playing well and hopefully with Jim next year or whoever that may be and ask me back into the panel. [sic]"

McHugh rejoined the Donegal panel ahead of the 2015 season.

Inter-provincial

McHugh has played for Ulster in the Inter-Provincial Series.

Style

McHugh's performances in 2012 earned him repeated descriptions of being "Donegal's pivotal player". He is considered "as lively a wire as his father Martin was in his heyday", and has been called the "Lionel Messi" of a Donegal team widely said to resemble FC Barcelona in terms of the quality of their style and shock and awe tactics. Daniel O'Donnell himself has personally thanked McHugh.

Honours