McHugh wants Kilcar to set the record straight in Ulster
HAVING waited more than 20 years to win the Donegal title, Ryan McHugh and his Kilcar team-mates will enter uncharted territory this Sunday when they travel to Clones for an Ulster Club Championship game. The fact that they are playing Scotstown will mean the talented McHugh can meet up with some good friends. He lived with Kieran Hughes when they were both in college in Belfast and he also knows keeper Rory Beggan. ‘I know them very well but I am afraid friendships will have to go out the window on Sunday,’ he said. ‘It adds that wee bit of rivalry and bragging rights to the match.’ The death of Donegal’s former goalkeeping coach Pat Shovelin over the weekend, at the age of 41, will cast a shadow over the game and McHugh paid tribute to him yesterday. ‘He was a great man to have about the squad. Nobody had a bad word to say about him. It is extremely sad and to be honest, it is hard to know what to say. He was taken too soon, It is very tough.’ He hasn’t had much time to think about the intercounty scene apart from a couple of brief chats with newly appointed Donegal boss Declan Bonner. However, he admitted he was surprised when Rory Gallagher stepped down and he even tried to talk the Belleek native into reversing his decision. ‘It was a huge surprise. Rory Gallagher deserves huge credit for the time and commitment he gave to Donegal. Everyone who has worked with him has huge time for him and what people think outside the group doesn’t matter. I’d like to thank him for the time and effort he gave. Fermanagh have now got a phenomenal manager and coach.’ Bonner moved swiftly to draft recently-retired Karl Lacey, the 2012 Footballer of the year, into his backroom team and McHugh feels it was a positive move. ‘It is great. The experience that Karl has under his belt is phenomenal. He is the most successful player ever to play for Donegal and he is going to bring that experience into the squad. ‘As players, we would have looked up to Karl Lacey, none more than myself,’ he added. McHugh revealed he was invited up for International Rules trials by manager Joe Kernan, but didn’t make the final cut. But he’d trade that for Kilcar to go all the way in the Ulster championship — a competition that no Donegal club has won since St Joseph’s (an amalgamation of Ballyshannon and Bundoran), back in 1975. It is a poor record for a proud footballing county. ‘It is something we would like to set right,’ McHugh said.