McHugh the Creator: Donegal’s leader of pocket-knife players

The 31-year-old is McGuinness’ versatile man. In the Ulster final, he was detailed to mark Armagh’s main creator, Rory Grugan. Even still, he assisted 0-4 that day

LEADER: McHugh celebrates victory in the semi-final. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

This is it. Rewind to 2014 and Ryan McHugh was young, disappointed but hopeful. They missed their chance to clinch an All-Ireland title. They thought they’d have plenty more.

The Kilcar man joined the senior setup ahead of the 2013 season. As expected, they won an Ulster title and reached the showpiece in September 2014. It was a difficult day. He couldn’t wait for an opportunity to secure redemption. It took a long 11 years.