HE CELEBRATED HIS 32nd birthday last week and in the sporting section of his life, Conor McHugh would never have forecast this position a few years back.
His underage days were characterised by football prowess, the best U21 player in the country in 2014 on a Dublin team that was stacked with glittering talents.
McHugh graduated like the rest of his peers to a senior setup that gobbled up trophies but pushing his way into that starting forward line was a constant battle. Eventually he drifted away.
Then came 2025 and the series of enriching hurling experiences. An All-Ireland club medal in Na Fianna colours in January, a defensive role when Dublin stunned Limerick’s hurling heavyweights in June.
“If you said to me at 27-28, I would play with Dublin hurling, I would have laughed at you,” says McHugh.
“I think everyone else would laughed as well. But it just worked out. Like, Na Fianna; one thing led to another. Then Nelly (Niall O Ceallacháin) got the job, he asked me in – he’s a hard man to say no to. So, I just went with it.
“And I’m loving every minute of it since. You know, I really love the group, the lads in there. Like, one of my only regrets is that I wish I’d gone in earlier, you know?
“It’s my second year at it now. There’s great lads there that just love Dublin hurling. They’re very, very passionate about it. They want to be the best and achieve what we can achieve. So, yeah, I really am loving it.”
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Conor McHugh in action for Dublin against Limerick's Tom Morrissey. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
McHugh is perfectly positioned to compare the two capital dressing room environments. The standards and level of ambition are well-matched, even if one group have got their hands on more silvereware over the last decade.
“It is similar. You’re obviously looking to win different trophies, but the goal is the same. I think we’re in a very good Dublin hurling team at the moment. Obviously, not as good as the football was when I was in that, but you’re playing at a top level for a team that think they can achieve the best in the sport.
“And it’s competitive as well. I think it’s the strongest Dublin have been in a long time, this panel. If you look across the board at the club scene, we have the best players in the squad.”
Conor McHugh, in action in last year's All-Ireland club hurling final. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
His own playing approach is different now. It has to be.
Where once he was trying to unlock opposition defences as a scoring threat, now his mind is consumed with trying to police the best forwards in hurling.
“It’s a completely different mindset, I think. Obviously the mental side of the game, how you approach it, it’s the same thing, you’re kind of focusing on what you can control.
“But I find there’s a lot more opposition analysis I would do in hurling when you’re marking lads, because you have to just study them, while in football I focus on myself a lot more.
“The hours of prep, I’d say, on the video analysis I do in hurling, is a lot more than football. It’s all instinct (in football), while in hurling you’re giving yourself the best possible chance to stop the lad, and you’d have to just do your bit of homework.
“You can see on the GPS, I think to be a defender at this level, you have to have it in the full-back line. You can probably get away with it a bit more maybe in the half back line, but in the full-back line … just the level of inside players in the county and they’re all fast as well, so you need to be a good combination of strength and pace to deal with it.”
His football career yielded an impressive array of trophies – four All-Ireland and six Leinster medals in the Dublin senior ranks.
Conor McHugh in action for Dublin against Kerry's Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Paul Murphy. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
As he chases honours in hurling, a change off the pitch has helped.
“I work as a sales rep with a company called Capitalflow, it would be a lender in the market. The job I’m in is quite flexible. You can work around your own diary, which helps in this.
“It’s something I didn’t have when I was playing football, and I think you can kind of see the difference in being able to get to an ice bath during the day or whatever.
“I was working in the bank, so I was just sitting in the office nine to five in Ballsbridge. It definitely helps. The one percenters at this level all add up, especially the way the format is in the championship at the moment, it’s helter-skelter.”
Maintaining his fitness is a vital aim this year after his 2025 ended on a sour note against Cork.
“It was a bad quad tear, put me out for two months. I knew as soon as I did it, I felt it go up my leg. I think I was chasing Shane Barrett to get a hook on him, and it just went.
“Which was disappointing because I had no real issues going into the game. It caught me by surprise. I would have done it a few times playing football, obviously, with the kicking. But in hurling that was my first time doing it.
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“But I’ve got myself in a good position this year, touch wood. I’m back fully fit so raring to go.”
Cork's Shane Barrett and Dublin's Conor McHugh. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
Offaly is the first test tonight in Leinster. Dublin are keen to make an impact, frustrated by their own inconsistency and determined to prove last year’s win over Limerick was not an isolated result. The 2026 prospects dominate McHugh’s thinking.
“I’ve played GAA my whole life, and you want to play at the top level that you can play at. And I was lucky to do it in football, but when I’m in it now I’m like, ‘Jesus, how was I never in this? How was I not in this for a period of a few years?’
“It consumes you in a way, but it’s a good thing. Everything I think of is getting the body right, getting to the hurling wall, and it’s all I think about.
“But it’s for the big days that are coming up. Playing championship in front of a full house with the Dublin jersey on, that’s what I wanted to do from a young age, and I’m lucky to be able to do it.”
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'I really love the group, only regret is that I wish I'd gone in earlier' – Dublin second coming
HE CELEBRATED HIS 32nd birthday last week and in the sporting section of his life, Conor McHugh would never have forecast this position a few years back.
His underage days were characterised by football prowess, the best U21 player in the country in 2014 on a Dublin team that was stacked with glittering talents.
McHugh graduated like the rest of his peers to a senior setup that gobbled up trophies but pushing his way into that starting forward line was a constant battle. Eventually he drifted away.
Then came 2025 and the series of enriching hurling experiences. An All-Ireland club medal in Na Fianna colours in January, a defensive role when Dublin stunned Limerick’s hurling heavyweights in June.
“If you said to me at 27-28, I would play with Dublin hurling, I would have laughed at you,” says McHugh.
“I think everyone else would laughed as well. But it just worked out. Like, Na Fianna; one thing led to another. Then Nelly (Niall O Ceallacháin) got the job, he asked me in – he’s a hard man to say no to. So, I just went with it.
“And I’m loving every minute of it since. You know, I really love the group, the lads in there. Like, one of my only regrets is that I wish I’d gone in earlier, you know?
“It’s my second year at it now. There’s great lads there that just love Dublin hurling. They’re very, very passionate about it. They want to be the best and achieve what we can achieve. So, yeah, I really am loving it.”
McHugh is perfectly positioned to compare the two capital dressing room environments. The standards and level of ambition are well-matched, even if one group have got their hands on more silvereware over the last decade.
“It is similar. You’re obviously looking to win different trophies, but the goal is the same. I think we’re in a very good Dublin hurling team at the moment. Obviously, not as good as the football was when I was in that, but you’re playing at a top level for a team that think they can achieve the best in the sport.
“And it’s competitive as well. I think it’s the strongest Dublin have been in a long time, this panel. If you look across the board at the club scene, we have the best players in the squad.”
His own playing approach is different now. It has to be.
Where once he was trying to unlock opposition defences as a scoring threat, now his mind is consumed with trying to police the best forwards in hurling.
“It’s a completely different mindset, I think. Obviously the mental side of the game, how you approach it, it’s the same thing, you’re kind of focusing on what you can control.
“But I find there’s a lot more opposition analysis I would do in hurling when you’re marking lads, because you have to just study them, while in football I focus on myself a lot more.
“The hours of prep, I’d say, on the video analysis I do in hurling, is a lot more than football. It’s all instinct (in football), while in hurling you’re giving yourself the best possible chance to stop the lad, and you’d have to just do your bit of homework.
“You can see on the GPS, I think to be a defender at this level, you have to have it in the full-back line. You can probably get away with it a bit more maybe in the half back line, but in the full-back line … just the level of inside players in the county and they’re all fast as well, so you need to be a good combination of strength and pace to deal with it.”
His football career yielded an impressive array of trophies – four All-Ireland and six Leinster medals in the Dublin senior ranks.
As he chases honours in hurling, a change off the pitch has helped.
“I work as a sales rep with a company called Capitalflow, it would be a lender in the market. The job I’m in is quite flexible. You can work around your own diary, which helps in this.
“It’s something I didn’t have when I was playing football, and I think you can kind of see the difference in being able to get to an ice bath during the day or whatever.
“I was working in the bank, so I was just sitting in the office nine to five in Ballsbridge. It definitely helps. The one percenters at this level all add up, especially the way the format is in the championship at the moment, it’s helter-skelter.”
Maintaining his fitness is a vital aim this year after his 2025 ended on a sour note against Cork.
“It was a bad quad tear, put me out for two months. I knew as soon as I did it, I felt it go up my leg. I think I was chasing Shane Barrett to get a hook on him, and it just went.
“Which was disappointing because I had no real issues going into the game. It caught me by surprise. I would have done it a few times playing football, obviously, with the kicking. But in hurling that was my first time doing it.
“But I’ve got myself in a good position this year, touch wood. I’m back fully fit so raring to go.”
Offaly is the first test tonight in Leinster. Dublin are keen to make an impact, frustrated by their own inconsistency and determined to prove last year’s win over Limerick was not an isolated result. The 2026 prospects dominate McHugh’s thinking.
“I’ve played GAA my whole life, and you want to play at the top level that you can play at. And I was lucky to do it in football, but when I’m in it now I’m like, ‘Jesus, how was I never in this? How was I not in this for a period of a few years?’
“It consumes you in a way, but it’s a good thing. Everything I think of is getting the body right, getting to the hurling wall, and it’s all I think about.
“But it’s for the big days that are coming up. Playing championship in front of a full house with the Dublin jersey on, that’s what I wanted to do from a young age, and I’m lucky to be able to do it.”
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Conor McHugh Dublin GAA Hurling Leinster