Emlyn Hughes continues his lifetime commitment to the GAA as he embraces new role

For those who know Emlyn Hughes, they know he has never entered a position of responsibility half-hearted. In a GAA or professional sense, he has never rested on his laurels, there was always more to be done.

The Donegal Town man who had a mere stint as a child between Letterkenny and Longford before eventually residing in the town he lives today with his family is now willing to roll up his sleeves once again as he takes on the position of the County Children’s Officer.  

His father Pat was an Ulster bank official in Letterkenny, winning a Dr Maguire Cup medal and a senior Hurling championship medal with the black and amber in 1972 before being transferred to Longford where the young Hughes would end up boarding as a student at St Mel’s College, a football stronghold in Leinster at the time.  

Even if he tried, there was no chance that the new children’s officer in Donegal was ever going to avoid a life surrounded by the GAA.  

“I was in boarding school in St Mel’s in Longford where I got to play football with some of the best players from the surrounding counties and a really top team,” said Hughes.   

“My interest in GAA actually stemmed from the St Eunan’s club aged seven, when my father would bring me down to O’ Donnell Park for a kick around. 

“My father was a bank official in Letterkenny before being transferred to Longford where I ended up boarding in St Mel’s. I stayed there as a boarder because there was a good football team in the school at the time. We reached the Leinster colleges’ final where we lost to St Pat’s of Navan, coached by Colm O Rourke at the time.”  

By the time he was 17, the Donegal man would be stationed in Donegal Town where he would etch himself within the club Four Masters for the next three decades. Despite only being in his 40s, Hughes’s CV goes far beyond a newly appointed county office plucked from the sky.   

Early injury would cut his career short, but a life of coaching would follow, taking up the reign as a coach in Dublin with UCD’s Fresher’s side and later the university's Sigerson Cup team, winning a Dublin senior club championship with UCD in 2002. 

The following year he would be a selector for Michael Kelly’s Four Masters’ winning championship side in 2003, their last senior title to date.  

Hughes managed the county ladies' team in 2006 and coached the Four Masters team for a number of years including their last Senior league title under manager Joe Lacey in 2010. 

In 2013 he became manager of the club senior men’s team for two seasons.  

It was only going to be a matter of time before Hughes would return to a top position in the county’s GAA realm and when the county board’s children’s officer position came calling, it was a role he believed suited his experience. A position where he could make a difference.  

“On a professional level I’m employed by the Tusla Child and Family Agency. I’ve been a professionally qualified social worker for over 20 years, and I suppose this job was a natural fit for me to use my experience in a GAA context, so this role just looked like a natural fit for me,” said Hughes.  

Despite the uproar and controversy involved with Donegal’s underage academy and the turmoil involved with the 2023 county board, the former club manager prefers to focus on the future and being a part of a positive and organised system within the county.  

“I wasn’t involved last year with the county board so I can’t talk about what’s happened in the past,” Hughes said.   

“I just saw this job as an opportunity to use the knowledge I have in this field for the organisation I’ve been a part of all my life.  

“What I can say about this year, since I’ve come into the position of Children’s Officer, is the work-rate and the commitment of the other officers in the county board is exceptional.   

“The workload that many officers on these boards carry is largely unseen but is unbelievably significant. We now have a very strong competent executive county management committee.  

“Some of us are very new to our role but we are very grateful for the support that has been given to us to date by the people in Donegal GAA.  

“It’s also important that there is a strong and constructive relationship developing between the new county board and the delegates who attend the county committee.   

“There are huge challenges running a county board at any stage, even when things are going well, but I believe we really have competent people there with a lot of experience that’s now starting to take shape.  

“When you have people of the caliber of Jim McGuinness and Mary Coughlan in leadership positions it’s a big help. There will be further challenges no doubt but we’re off to a good start.” 

Hughes has built a good relationship with the people of Donegal, which he maintains to this day. As a coach he tapped into potential and harnessed it. As a new chapter begins for him there’s no reason to believe that those skills won't continue.