Legendary Monaghan footballer Eugene 'Nudie' Hughes has died at the age of 67.
The three-time All-Star, considered by many to be Monaghan's greatest footballer, was diagnosed with cancer in 2018.
Hughes faced the battle with huge positivity, inspiring everyone who met him and supporting countless others. The Castleblayney Faughs legend put his outlook down to the huge support he got from his own family and friends and the wider GAA clan.
In 2024, Hughes was honoured by the Gaelic Players Association with a Lifetime Achievement award.
He was Monaghan's first All-Star winner in 1979 and picked up two further personal accolades in 1985 and 1989. Hughes was one of only a small number of players to have been recognised in defence and attack; his first coming as a corner-back with the others coming as a corner-forward.
Those three All-Star winning years coincided with Monaghan winning the Ulster title.
Meanwhile in 1985, Hughes was also part of the team that won the National Football League.
He picked up a Railway Cup medal in 1984 as part of Ulster’s winning side and also won two Ulster football titles with Castleblayney.
Former Oriel County footballer Dick Clerkin, whose father Hugo played alongside Hughes on that famed side, said that the 'Blayney ace had "put Monaghan football on the map."
"He was always so positive, he was infectious with his personality," Clerkin told RTÉ Radio 1's News at One. "Anybody who knew him or met him would attest to that.
"He burst onto the scene in the ‘70s and my father played with him for his full career and he sort of put Monaghan football on the map.
"He was the face of Monaghan football and for all intents and purposes, he has been the front for Monaghan football in terms of how he carried himself and how he was so positive around everything about his own club and Monaghan GAA.
"He is going to be sorely missed not just as a person but for what he represented."
Hughes' exploits on the club scene were legendary, becoming a household name in the Ulster club series, but Clerkin said his impact on the inter-county scene was equally impressive.
"Monaghan were a very proud football county but for a large part of the last century, we lived under the shadow of our rivals Cavan.
"Coming into the ‘70s, Monaghan wouldn’t have had an awful lot to cheer about.
"A great team came together and burst onto the scene, really in 1979 when they won their first Ulster title for a number of years and ‘Nudie’ was front and centre on that.
"Michael O'Hehir (former RTÉ commentator) talking about him in Croke Park when instead of doing his job in corner-back, as my father says, he went up kicking points against Kerry and won his All-Star.
"That was the character he was. My father used to always say when I was playing, when the game was going against you he’d say ‘you should have done a ‘Nudie’’; do something, make something happen, get the ball, don’t worry about anyone else and get yourself into the game.
"That’s what he did and he led that team and his club Castleblayney to great honours that haven’t been replicated since."
Monaghan GAA paid tribute to one of their most noted players.
"It is with deep and profound sadness that Monaghan GAA has learned of the passing of one of our greatest ever players, Eugene 'Nudie' Hughes – a true legend of Monaghan football and a three-time All-Star recipient.
"Nudie’s contribution to our county, both on and off the field, was immense. His skill, passion and leadership inspired generations, and his name will forever be synonymous with Monaghan’s proud footballing tradition.
"Nudie fought his illness with immense courage and dignity, just as he played the game – with heart and determination."
