Gone, but not forgotten

GROWING up in The Neale, Enda Hughes would have had ambitions of playing for Mayo.
His brothers Declan, Donal, Kieran and Eoin all wore the Green and Red at various grades so it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that Enda would follow in their footsteps.
He was a good player, a powerful half-back, and he took his football seriously.
In the words of Ray McHugh, a former chairman of The Neale GAA club, ‘when Enda took it into his head there was nothing to stop him. He was a great wing-back to drive up the field and get you a score.”
As things transpired, Enda never got the opportunity to play for Mayo, but he did line out for Louth in 2004 after winning rave reviews for his performances with Dowdallshill as they stormed to an historic Louth Junior championship title the previous year.
The call came from then-Louth manager, Val Andrews, and the Dundalk-based Garda had no hesitation in answering.
In the process he helped to forge a bond between The Neale and Dowdallshill, and Louth and Mayo, that endures to this day.
A bond that would be strengthened by the tragic events that would unfold in early 2009.
“Enda didn’t actually make much of it, playing for Louth, he played it down,” his oldest brother, Declan, told The Mayo News last week.
“But we were all very proud of his achievements with Dowdhallshill and Louth.
“And when he mentioned one day that he was going to be playing in the O’Byrne Cup against Dublin, and household names like the Brogans, we started to sit up and take notice!
“We’d all played a bit with Mayo at one level or another, but Enda hadn’t.
“And then one day we discover he’s going to be playing for Louth!”
Just five years later, on February 14, 2009, Enda died after a tragic accident during a team-mate’s stag weekend in Ballybofey.
He was 29.
Enda’s passing rocked everyone who knew him, both in Mayo and Louth.
He was a member of Dowdallshill GAA club at the time of his death, having transferred to the Louth club in 2003 after being stationed in Dundalk.
During his six years with the club, Enda won two Louth junior championships, including an historic Division 3 league, championship, and Kevin Mullen Shield treble in his first season.
That same year, Enda’s form at midfield for his adopted club was so impressive that he also lined out for the Louth senior footballers during the O’Byrne Cup.
In doing so, he became the first player from the Dowdallshill club in 30 years to wear the county colours.
“He was very pacy and very athletic. He was the perfect number five,” explained his brother, Declan. “That was his best position with us in The Neale over the years.
“He was such a strong runner and was very good when he was attacking.
“He played at midfield with Dowdhallshill and seemed to really stand out.’
“We were all very proud of his achievements up there with them.”
A former Garda colleague, John Brady, remembers Enda as ‘a fine man and a fine footballer’ who took his job as seriously as he did his football.
He explained that Enda’s Mayo heritage also increased his popularity around Dowdhallshill GAA club as he joined fellow Mayo men like Jim Sheridan from Robeen and Tom Molloy from Bohola in the club’s ranks.
Together they kept the green and red flag flying during the indian summers of 2004 and 2006.
And the fact that Dowdallshill played in green and red colours wasn’t lost on any of them.
So like everyone who knew him, they were devastated to hear of Enda’s untimely passing 14 years ago.
But next Sunday, when Mayo play Louth in the All-Ireland SFC series in Castlebar, Enda Hughes will be in many people’s thoughts. He is gone, but not forgotten.
“Enda was a great brother and a lovely fella,” said Declan.
“He was very modest, very mannerly and was always well turned out. And he liked other people to be well turned out too,” he smiled.
“He was very proud of being a Garda.
“All five of us played together for The Neale a few times around 1999/2000, and I remember bring told there was one match where we all touched the ball, one after another,” Declan added wistfully. “They are very special memories to have now.”