Kevin McHugh ( ga, Caoimhín MacAodha); born 19 January 1980 in

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

, Ireland) 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 le ...

and current manager of Finn Harps F.C. under-15

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

team. He is considered one of Donegal's best-known sportstars.

Career

McHugh was born in

and raised in the border town of Killea in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

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, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. Ba ...

-side,

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are 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. However, it was te ...

, against Fanad United in the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

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 Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

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-

Despite the relegation of

from the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

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

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

, 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

Kevin 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 ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Dhún na nGall) 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 Don ...

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

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

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. In November 2016, McHugh was named as the manager of the Finn Harps under-15 team for the inaugural

under-15 season which got underway in August 2017.

Kildrum Tigers

McHugh has also played for Kildrum Tigers.

Trivia

*Kevin is fifth in the all-time League of Ireland goalscoring list with 174 league goals.

Honours

;Individual *

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

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 6 ...

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 ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster ...

** 2001–02, 2002–03,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

: 4 ;

: 1 ; Derry City *

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

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

: 1 *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

: 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 People from Letterkenny Association footballers from County Donegal Association football forwards Republic of Ireland 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