Donal Hughes

Donal Hughes with fellow broadcaster Rich Beem at the 2016 Irish Open

Donal Hughes is an Irish sport broadcaster, influencer, and athlete. Originally a sports writer, Hughes turned his hobby into an alternative career when he became the golfing "SpinDoctor" with the Irish Examiner. Later, he became head of the satirical golf website GolfCentralDaily.com. He also curates social media and works as an influencer for sports companies involved in Golf, Gaelic Football, and Triathlon. In addition, he is the chief equipment reviewer of Golfbidder, with over 9.6 million views on his YouTube videos as of late 2020. He holds a degree in chemistry and biology.

Biography

Born in 1974, Hughes grew up in Ballinrobe, County Mayo in the West of Ireland. He completed a degree in Applied Chemistry in Dublin City University winning the AGB gold medal for highest final year exam results. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in 1999. Hughes returned to Mayo, and later married. He is a father of four.

Sporting career

Hughes’ early life was defined by elite sporting achievement; he represented his county Mayo in Gaelic football at all underage levels as a goalkeeper and achieved honours in squash, badminton, rugby and soccer. He received the DCU "Sportstar Of The Year" award in 1993 from the then Irish Minister for Sport Liam Aylward, having represented the University on nine winning teams across five sports. Following a sports career ending leg injury whilst in DCU, Hughes took up golf, which he also played competitively. Hughes' returned from injury in 2012 and now competes in Ironman events. He made headlines in the triathlon world at the Hurricane Matthew-shortened 2016 Ironman North Carolina by running through the finish line and cycling an extra 62 miles to ensure he completed the full Ironman distance of 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and a marathon 26.22-mile run on that day. Hughes also now works as Gaelic Football goalkeeping coach. In 2016 Hughes spoke of his role in the infamous "broken crossbar incident" at the 1992 Connaught Gaelic Football Final.

Charity work

Ireland Captain Donal Hughes with Kelly Tidy And England Captain Mick Hill at The Druh Cup 2015

In 2007 Hughes devised and undertook a record breaking challenge for charity entitled The Round Ireland Golf Challenge. Along with fellow golfer Michael Nolan, Hughes completed 32 rounds of golf, in each of Ireland's 32 counties, over 32 consecutive days finishing on 6 September 2007 at The Heritage Golf Club. During the challenge, the pair played every course and covered a driving distance of over 5,000 km. The achievement raised €100,000 for children's and cancer charities in Ireland including Playing For Life, The Friends of St. Lukes, Barretstown Castle, and The Jack and Jill Foundation. Hughes retains his charity involvement as a West Of Ireland envoy for an anonymous donor to rural and social development projects.

Golf writing career

Donal Hughes on the 18th green in Valderrama whilst reviewing the course for the Irish Examiner.

In preparation for his Round Ireland Golf Challenge, Donal Hughes came to the attention of the Irish golfing community and was commissioned by the Irish Examiner newspaper to write a log of his adventures. Following the project, Hughes was retained by the Irish Examiner to write a weekly golfing column in the paper. His humorous approach to golf writing lead to him becoming a reader favourite and in 2008 Hughes was promoted to a full page each Tuesday in the sports section of the paper with an average readership of 238,000. Known as the "SpinDoctor", Hughes's page featured until 2012. Hughes now runs GolfCentralDaily.com and is the golf equipment reviewer and interviewer for UK based golf retailer Golfbidder. He also curates social media for several golf related companies.