14/08/2026
Sending thoughts and prayers to the O'Donnell and the McHugh families back home in Kilcar today, It's still almost too sad to fathom , i can only imagine what the family and close friends must be feeling, if the shock has even worn off.
It goes so deep into the fabric of the parish and the county it is hard to explain it here , with Noreen being at the heart of the National School and James... where do you even start with James McHugh ?🙌...
When I started going away from home in my teens to cities such as New York or Sydney & after my gigs i would meet Irish ex-Pats from the likes of Cork or Longford and they would ask "where abouts in Donegal are you from?"
I would say "Kilcar" ,
They would look a bit confused, so I would seamlessly follow it up with "McHugh country! James and Martin, the footballers!" ,
They would go "ahhh yes! I have ya now". It was that simple, but that inter-twined, that deep, worldwide, for half a century.
I was sent a WhatsApp pic of James's awards and achievements since 1979, I was stunned to see that he won a trophy every year for 16 years in a row up to 1995 , that's a ridiculous stat of winning mentality, mixed in with an All Star and of course Donegal's first ever All Ireland win. 🏆
It can be difficult to navigate being an entertainer in a holiday resort sometimes, especially on a week like this, but I find honesty is always the best policy with a crowd... so I explained over the mic at my last gig that "im sorry im not my usual chirpy self, there has been some unbelievably sad news from home that I'm constantly thinking about , if anyone here is from Ireland you might have read about James and Noreen McHugh they ...."
And before I had a chance to finish the sentence the whole room slowly started to stand up and just naturally applaud, for about 6 minutes, pure respect, I was so taken aback 💚😞 .
Sometimes in the modern world you fear that everything and everyone has gone to pot, that there is no good left in people, but there really is... from all the community of Kilcar pulling together to help with the seemingly impossible logistics of the massive wake and funeral co-ordination and supporting each other... to a simple silent standing ovation in a room full of strangers in Lanzarote . 💔
Sincerest condolences to Emma and Eoin.
Rest in Peace Noreen & James McHugh.
Codladh sámh 🇮🇪 💙💛
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I'm in Rory's Live Lounge 9.30pm every Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesdays, Weds, .....
And I want to thank all the Donegal people who called in this week and especially my old Kilcar School classmate Lorretta Gallagher, it was needed! Xo
