Joe McHugh TD was born in Carrigart, Co. Donegal, in the 1970s and grew up there with his two brothers and his two sisters. A former secondary school teacher and Community Youth Worker, he was educated at Umlagh NS, Loreto Convent (Milford), and at NUI Maynooth.

Joe is a keen sportsman. A midfielder, he played soccer for Cranford FC and for Bonagee United FC in the 1980s and ‘90s. He also played for Dubai Creeks in 1995/6, and represented NUI Maynooth in two Collingwood tournaments.  

Joe is a Liverpool FC fan and has attended games at Anfield. He recalls playing for the Republic of Ireland against England at Old Trafford as a proud sporting moment. On that occasion an Oireachtas soccer team inspired by resolute centre-half Jimmy Deenihan and attacking left-back Richard Bruton narrowly defeated a Westminster selection.

Joe played Gaelic football for his native Na Dúnabh at underage level through to U-21. He is a founder member of Dubai GAA Club, which is the oldest GAA Club in the United Arab Emirates. Joe has also fought for Carrigart Boxing Club on several occasions.

In 2005 Joe McHugh married Ms. Olwyn Enright, who is a Fine Gael TD for Laois-Offaly.

On his days at NUI Maynooth…  

“I loved my time at college in Maynooth – there was always a buzz around, but at the same time the campus was relatively small. There was a very large Donegal contingent there in my years.

“Entering politics never even crossed my mind while I was in college. Today I am very friendly with Brian Hayes TD, whose Leinster House office is across the corridor from mine. Brian studied at Maynooth while I was there, but our paths never crossed. He was very active in the University Debating Society and in NUI Maynooth Young Fine Gael.  

“I was more interested in sport and in socialising. I represented Maynooth at two Collingwood tournaments (Belfast & TCD). Aprés match in the Roost Bar was always a lively affair with the likes of John Drennan (now Sunday Independent) holding court.
 

On his 3 years in Dubai…

“Moving to Dubai in the mid 1990s was an adventure for me I suppose. I taught Maths and A-level economics in Dubai, and I thoroughly enjoyed life in the city.

“The GAA was a big part of my life in Dubai – I was one of a group of young Irish people who founded the United Arab Emirates’ first GAA club.”

On working in Letterkenny in the 1990s…

“Being a community youth worker was very fulfilling. I worked in Letterkenny as a community youth worker for three years, and I forged some very close friendships during that time. I taught Business Studies, Geography, and Maths in Loreto Convent for two years. Being a teacher was fascinating – I learned more from my students than they learned during my classes. 
 

On growing up in Carrigart…

Growing up in Donegal is as good as it gets. Donegal is insulated by 144 kilometres of the Border to the East, the Atlantic coast to the North and West, and by 12 kilometres of a border with the Republic of Ireland to the South.  

For me, nowhere else really mattered. Everything boiled down to inter-parish communications via Gaelic football, soccer, discos, and occasional boxing tournaments. At a parish level, farming friendships were forged through footing turf, and saving hay. Summer holidays were a complete paradox – in our house work began early in the morning and continued till the evening!!

The gruelling work demands that are placed on a farmer’s eldest son were counter-balanced by frequent trips to the nearby beach with my siblings and cousins. Marathon beach events were nearly always interspersed with choc-ices or the occasional bag of chips.

A sneak preview of the outside world came with La Scala Milford – 12 miles up the road. ‘Herbie goes bananas’ and ‘Herbie goes to Monte Carlo’ represented the purest form of escapism. ‘Who will love my children?’ was probably a little heavy for a nine year old!

Glenree United and Na Dúnaibh GAA Club were focal points during my teenage years. Successive defeats to Milford at U-12, U-14, U-16 and Minor were hard to swallow.

Rural transport was a challenge during my teenage years. I have countless memories of things that happened while I walked to youth clubs, thumbed to discos, got buses to Letterkenny to shop, and cycled to friends’ houses.

A trip to the zoo on John Joe Boyce’s bus was my first introduction to Dublin. I did not know then that, 30 years later, it would be my place of work.

The rich experiences of my childhood and teenage years have embedded in me family values, discipline, a belief in the importance of community, and a strong work ethic. I think that those values have stood to me in my working life.