{"id":590462,"date":"2026-08-12T00:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/590462\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T00:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:34:10","slug":"wife-of-donegal-footballer-james-mchugh-dies-following-car-crash-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/590462\/","title":{"rendered":"Wife of Donegal footballer James McHugh dies following car crash \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Noreen McHugh, the wife of former Donegal<\/a> footballer James McHugh, has died following the crash that also claimed his life on Monday afternoon. <\/p>\n

Noreen McHugh, aged in her 60s, was seriously injured in the crash involving a car and a van on the N3 at Drummallaght, Co Cavan<\/a>, on Monday afternoon. <\/p>\n

She was airlifted to Beaumont Hospital<\/a> for treatment but died on Tuesday evening. James McHugh, the driver of the car, died in the crash. <\/p>\n

Garda\u00ed<\/a> continue to appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the incident<\/a>, or who was travelling on the N3 between Virginia and Cavan particularly between 1pm and 2pm to come forward.<\/p>\n

They are appealing to any motorists who may have dashcam or other camera footage of the area during this time to make this footage available to them. <\/p>\n

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bailieboro Garda station on 042 969 4570, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.<\/p>\n

Donegal GAA<\/a> paid tribute to James McHugh on Tuesday, saying his legacy \u201cgoes far beyond honours and medals.\u201d<\/p>\n

A prominent member of Donegal\u2019s breakthrough 1992 All-Ireland winning team, James McHugh famously won the county\u2019s maiden Sam Maguire title alongside his brother, Martin. <\/p>\n

Donegal GAA described James as \u201ca man who holds a very special place in the story, and in the hearts, of Donegal Gaels and the wider community\u201d.<\/p>\n

The statement continued: \u201cFor many people across our county, James was one of their first heroes. James was part of the generation that changed Donegal football forever when he and his team-mates brought Sam Maguire to the hills for the first time in 1992. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe generation that showed us all that anything is possible. A proud Donegal man, he was perhaps prouder still to be a Kilcar man.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames\u2019s unprecedented achievement on the turf of Croke Park that September day was made all the more special by the fact that he shared the field with his beloved brother, Martin. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo see the brothers from Kilcar soldier together as Donegal finally reached the summit is a memory that will live forever in the history of our county.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames was recognised for his outstanding contribution to that historic campaign with an All-Star award, but his legacy goes far beyond honours and medals.\u201d<\/p>\n

He played with Donegal from 1990 to 1998 \u2013 scoring a point in the historic 1992 All-Ireland final win over Dublin before being included at wing forward in the All-Star team of the year \u2013 and remained a highly respected and much-loved figure within the GAA and his local community.<\/p>\n

His son Eoin and nephew Ryan have been part of the Donegal panel in recent years. Another nephew, Mark, was a member of Donegal\u2019s 2012 All-Ireland winning team and is the current Westmeath senior football manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was immensely proud of his club and everything it represented,\u201d Donegal GAA\u2019s statement continued. \u201cThat pride was particularly evident earlier this year when CLG Chill Chartha had the honour of hosting Com\u00f3rtas Peile na Gaeltachta. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a hugely special occasion for James to see his beloved club at the centre of such an important celebration of Gaelic games, language, culture and community. <\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, such was the respect of the McHugh brothers for the Com\u00f3rtas that they played Ulster Championship games for Donegal and were subsequently transported to wherever Cill Chartha were competing so they could play the second half!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Donegal connection has continued through his family, with his son Eoin and nephew Ryan now much-loved members of our current Donegal senior football panel. His nephew Mark also proudly followed in his footsteps, helping Donegal to All-Ireland glory in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a remarkable family legacy, spanning generations, and one that James was immensely proud of in his own quiet, unassuming way.<\/p>\n

\"ManagerManager Brian McEniff and the Donegal bench wait on the final whistle in the 1992 All-Ireland final between Donegal and Dublin. Photograph: Billy Stickland\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cThe McHugh\u2019s have been in the hearts of Donegal people for more than half a century, since they first appeared at underage level. They have shared our greatest sporting moments, our celebrations and our pride, and today, in this moment of unimaginable sadness, they are very much in our thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames McHugh is synonymous with the greatest day for Donegal football. All-Ireland winner, All-Star, a proud Donegal man and the proudest of Kilcar men, but above all James was a husband, a father, a brother, an uncle and a friend.<\/p>\n

Donegal GAA said their \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d are with the McHugh family – the couple\u2019s son Eoin, daughter Emma, son-in-law Diarmaid along with their \u201dmany friends, former team-mates, clubmates and loved ones”.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have given so much to Donegal GAA, and we will be there for them now as they navigate this devastating news.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paying tribute, Donegal\u2019s 1992 All-Ireland winning manager Brian McEniff said he was \u201cbroken-hearted\u201d at the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames was such a fine man. I had a great friendship with him,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is just terrible. I don\u2019t know what to say. James had the heart of a lion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kilcar GAA said the club is \u201cdevastated to hear of the tragic and untimely passing of one of our own\u201d, adding: \u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with the McHugh and O\u2019Donnell families at this time and we pray for Noreen\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mark of respect, all club activities will be suspended until further notice. Ar dheis D\u00e9 go raibh a anam uasal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Noreen McHugh, the wife of former Donegal footballer James McHugh, has died following the crash that also claimed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,41038,15218,1485,61,60,43,11318],"class_list":["post-590462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-beaumont-hospital","tag-cavan","tag-donegal","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-road-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}