Spirit of 'Nudie' Hughes to resonate on Ulster final day

Monaghan, Ulster finals and Eugene 'Nudie' Hughes, a triumvirate that just makes sense but one that will be missing a most important part when they meet Armagh in Sunday's decider at Clones.

You'd have to go back to 1952, some 74 years ago, for the last time the Oriel County battled for the Anglo Celt at St Tiernach’s Park without the Monaghan legend playing a part in some capacity following his death last November.

Not that his presence won't be felt.

For the huge Monaghan following expected, the walk down from the square towards Creighton’s and back up the steep Church Hill towards the ground can surely only spark memories of similar past journeys when ‘Nudie’ bamboozled all before him.

There was ‘79 when the 22-year-old's first 11 seconds of Ulster final action would enter into the annals of GAA history as an oddity.

Referee Hugh Duggan threw the ball in, Donegal won possession and half-forward Kieran Keeney kicked a great score, or so he thought.

Band major Gerry Tivnan and the Monaghan Community Band hadn’t played the pre-match national anthem yet and were still on the field when the ball split the posts. They stood their ground too, refusing to leave the pitch until they had performed and the game was restarted a few minutes later with Keeney’s score chalked off.

Monaghan would win comfortably and an All-Star followed months later for Hughes, as they did in ‘85 and ‘88 when helping Monaghan to further Ulster success – the first from right corner-back and the latter two as the left corner-forward.

Post retirement, Hughes attended Monaghan’s Ulster finals as a fan and family man - son Ciaran and nephew Rory Woods were on the 2007 side that lost to Tyrone in the final - and, during the Malachy O’Rourke era, as a co-commentator with Shannonside Northern Sound, sharing the airwaves with Alan Gunn for the memorable provincial wins in 2013 – their first title since ‘88 - and 2015 when Donegal were twice vanquished.

"There were tears in his eyes in 2013 when that final whistle went," Gunn tells RTÉ Sport.

"The amount of people that came up to him, hugging him and shaking his hand after it – they knew how much it meant to him. I think it was important to him too that the mantle from the ‘88 side had finally been passed on.

"It was such an incredible day because it was the jubilee of the ‘88 team that day so he had to nip away from the commentary at half-time to be introduced to the crowd and then back up. The Monaghan seniors and minors both won Ulster titles that day so it was special.

"No doubt he’ll be looking down on Sunday and smiling and maybe saying an extra prayer for the boys."

Close to where he was raised in ‘Blayney, on York Street, lurks a two-story mural of Eugene ‘Nudie’ Hughes.

"Wear your heart on your sleeve. Faughs forever," the inscription reads, alongside his list of honours for both club and county, including the noteworthy line showing off his three Monaghan hurling titles with the town’s St Mary’s Park outfit.

The artist was Ciarán Dunlevy, a Louth native and keen apiculturist now stationed in the remoteness of Donegal.

Despite playing a bit of football around Drogheda as a youngster, he wasn’t a massive GAA fan but many family members were, and when you live within striking distance of Monaghan people, then you’re going to be told who ‘Nudie’ Hughes is.

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Dunlevy had previously – unsuccessfully – made a pitch to paint the mural of famed Monaghan musician Paddy Cole in Mindszenty Park in ‘Blayney, but he tried his luck again, enthused by an added bonus on the application form.

"It said you’d get the chance to meet ‘Nudie’ so I thought, whether or not I got it, it’d be class to meet him," Dunlevy told RTÉ Sport.

"I went down to meet him, hell of a nice guy and at the end he said to me 'you’re the only one who wanted to meet me'.

"I’ve met lots of people, different celebrities and the like, down through the years through the work and you get to know them and some of them have a good barrier up.

"You couldn’t not get to know ‘Nudie’ and you couldn’t not take a shine to him.

"It was probably the most I have ever talked on a mural painting because every person who passed had something good to say about him; they had a story or a yarn, and I was absolutely overloaded with so much information about him.

"It was probably the most I have ever talked on a mural painting because every person who passed had something good to say about him"

"I got to know him even better sort of through everyone else and you can tell how much he’ll be missed for this final."

Dunlevy continued to get to know him, the pair meeting numerous times in Dublin during Hughes’ illness for what usually turned into a couple of hours of just laughing – one story about a bee-keeper on a FÁS course still leaving Dunlevy in hysterics as he recounted it now years later.

"I’d say he’d a million friends, he was just that type of person," the artist added. "When I was drinking tea with ‘Nudie’, they’d be the sort of stories we’d be telling, just real life stories and I was very fortunate to meet him."

Armagh-Monaghan Ulster finals are a rarity. There’s only ever been three and the last was played in 1938.

The prospect of the orange jersey does evoke memories though, and for former Monaghan boss and one of Hughes’ best friends Eamon McEneaney, a classic 'Nudie' moment springs to mind instantly.

"The 1985 league final, Denis Stevenson from Armagh was on him, a real sticky defender," said McEneaney.

"The ball came in anyway, ‘Nudie’ sold him the dummy, and stuck it over the bar and turned to Denis and said 'number one Denis, number one.'

"That was ‘Nudie’, he’d say to us ‘just follow me and we’ll be grand’."

McEneaney and Hughes were almost lassoed together during their playing days, contributing handsomely to a golden period for both Monaghan and a Castleblayney side that twice came out of Ulster.

Much of that success owed to the sheer genius of his team-mate, according to the current Louth minor manager.

"He could throw 180s in darts, he could clear 50 or 60 in snooker and he won two or three captain’s prizes in ‘Blayney in the golf.

"He’d just sicken you with how good he was with so many sports.

"He was a confident person but he could back up that confidence and it took him places."

Ulster final day for McEneaney – even in the days without Monaghan present – offered a chance to reminisce.

"We would have gone to some of them together, especially before he did the commentary.

"We’d have met up sometimes after the final and gone for a few drinks in Clones. You’d bump into him and you’d be away together then."

Six months on from his death, and for the first final since, McEneaney knows his loss will be keenly felt on Sunday – not just during the game but around the town before and after.

"I suppose it hits you all the time. You might bump into someone and they’ll say something and you’d think ‘I must tell ‘Nudie’ that’ and then you realise he’s not there.

"He’s sorely missed by me and sorely missed by a lot of others.

"There’s a crowd of fellas from Dublin we were both very friendly with and played golf with, and we met recently and we just chatted about him.

"He fought some battle, he battled away and we’ll be thinking of him on Sunday."

Watch Dublin v Westmeath in the Leinster Football final (2pm) and Armagh v Monaghan in the Ulster Football final (4.15pm) on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

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