Donegal GAA player Ryan McHugh is busy making his presence felt in All Ireland football thanks, in part, to a perk of being a Sports Scholar at IT Sligo – free membership of the Knocknarea Arena gym.
Recent performances have earned him warm praise by GAA commentators but with Donegal aiming to win their way to the All-Ireland final he has just one target in mind.
That is, keeping his strength and fitness up in the hope of retaining a place on the Donegal panel. And the Knocknarea Arena gym, with its top of the range facilities for developing athletes’ strength and conditioning, is proving a big asset for Ryan.
“The money that comes with the Sports Scholarship is a big help with accommodation and fees costs,” he says. “And, of course, you get your free gym membership. At the minute I am concentrating on building up my strength levels. That’s one of the most important parts of my game, and the free membership has really helped me.”
A “Man of the Match” performance against Monaghan in Clones, ahead of Donegal’s recent win over Armagh, earned Ryan the Ulster GAA Writers’ Association Monthly Merit Award for July. “It was a nice surprise when I was told about it,” Ryan said.
The coveted award has also previously been won by Ryan’s father, Martin, who is one of Donegal’s legendary football stars, and Ryan’s brother, Mark.
Ryan, who is about to start his third year of Bachelor of Business degree, is heavily involved in GAA at IT Sligo. He is a member of the Sigerson Cup team. Ryan has been spending the summer getting in experience as a sales representative in his father’s company, MCM Spirits.
Just as the Writers’ award is very much becoming a family tradition, so too are Sports Scholarships. Brother, Mark, and cousin, Eoin McHugh, are in the ranks of the IT Sligo elite who have been awarded Sports Scholarships.
Ryan has warm praise for the scholarship scheme, which offers financial and mentoring support to athletes of outstanding talent. “There are three different categories of scholarship and I would definitely encourage people to apply,” he said.
Meantime, with the semi-final against Dublin beckoning, the modest Kilcar man is, naturally, hoping to be on the panel but knows that he has to earn his place.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to carry on and make the team for the Dublin game — but you never know. This Donegal team is good team, with a lot of good players. But ‘touch wood’, as they say.”
Donegal footballer & IT Sligo student Ryan McHugh