James McHugh

Death While driving on the N3 in the townland of Drummallaght, near Ballyjamesduff, in County Cavan, in the early afternoon of 10 August 2026, McHugh, aged 62, sustained fatal injuries in a collision with a van. The car's other passenger was McHugh's wife, Noreen, who was airlifted to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, where she died the following evening. The van driver's injuries were minor.

When it learnt of his death, McHugh's club immediately suspended activities. He was the first member of the 1992 All-Ireland SFC-winning panel to die. Thus, McHugh was Donegal's first All-Ireland SFC-winning player to have died, though Seamus Bonner who was a selector in 1992, died in 2012. McHugh's son, Eoin, was still playing for Donegal at the time of his parents' deaths, as was his nephew, Ryan.

Honours Inter-county All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (1): 1992 Ulster Senior Football Championship (2): 1990, 1992

Inter-provincial Railway Cup (1): 1994

Club Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta (4): 1987, 1989, 1990 (c), 1991 Donegal Senior Football Championship (3): 1985 (c), 1989, 1993

Individual All Star (1): 1992 Ulster SFC final man of the match: 1990