Eoin McHugh has revealed that he won’t be a part of the Donegal panel in 2018 as he concentrates on his studies.
McHugh is a final year business student at Jordanstown and has shelved his inter-county career for a year.
The 23-year-old says the commute from Belfast to Donegal for training has taken a toll.
“I’m looking forward to, hopefully, getting a degree – that’s the plan – getting into the real world, getting a job somewhere,” McHugh told today’s Irish News.
“I’ve actually pulled out of Donegal. With Kilcar doing so well, our season went on a long time. To be fair to Declan, he gave me ample time to think about it.
“He did ring me and I said ‘Look, I’m in Belfast and I am thinking of not being involved this year’. I then made the decision that it’s not for me this year.”
Several of the Donegal senior players are dotted around the country at college and Donegal’s own geography means some have lengthy commutes within the county’s own boundaries.
McHugh said: “I don’t think I’m being biased about Donegal but we’re in a completely different situation to a lot of counties. Tyrone and Armagh are no more than two hours away from Belfast and Dublin.
“Then Donegal itself, from Kilcar you’re talking an hour driving to training in your own county. People don’t understand that, in midland counties that aren’t so far away, that have better roads and infrastructure to Dublin and Belfast and these places.”
To read the full interview, see today’s Irish News: http://www.irishnews.com/sport/gaafootball/2018/01/30/news/donegal-lose-services-of-star-forward-eoin-mchugh-for-2018-1244726/?param=ds441rif44T
