World Championships McHugh competed in five successive
World Bowls Championships in
2000,
2008,
2012 and
2016 and 2023. He won a triples bronze medal in the
2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship and in 2016, was part of the combined Irish
fours team with
Simon Martin,
Neil Mulholland and
Ian McClure that won a bronze medal in
Christchurch. In 2020, he was selected for the
2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Australia but the event was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, he was selected as part of the team to represent Ireland at the
2023 World Outdoor Bowls Championship. He participated in the
men's triples and the
men's fours events. In the triples with Ian McClure and
Stuart Bennett, he won the bronze medal. He then won a second bronze medal in the fours event (partnering McClure, Bennett and
Adam McKeown) after winning their group but losing to Australia in the semi final.
Commonwealth Games McHugh has also competed in seven
Commonwealth Games in
1998 and
2002,
2006,
2010,
2014,
2018 and
2022. He won a fours gold medal at the
1998 Commonwealth Games. McHugh was selected for his sixth Games as part of the
Northern Ireland team for the
2018 Commonwealth Games on the
Gold Coast in
Queensland. In 2022 he was selected for his seventh Commonwealth Games, he competed in the
men's pairs and the
men's fours at the
2022 Commonwealth Games. In the fours the team of
Sam Barkley, Adam McKeown, Ian McClure and McHugh won the gold medal defeating India in the final. For the 2022 Commonwealth Games lawn bowler McHugh and boxer
Michaela Walsh were the delegation's flagbearers during the
opening ceremony. The Games were Northern Ireland's most successful, with them having won their highest number of gold medals, joint highest number of silver medals, and their most medals overall.
National He has been capped 107 times by Ireland. He has won six singles and went undefeated for four years winning in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the other two wins came in 2013 and 2015. In addition to the six singles he has won six pairs (five with Barry Browne 2002, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014) and (one with Sam Barkley 2021), two triples (2016, 2017), two fours (1996 & 2005) and two junior titles.
Other He also has four
British Isles Bowls Championships, three singles (2004, 2005 & 2016) and one pairs (1999) with Barry Browne (2007) and also has a record of 35 NIBA championships. In 2011 he won a silver medal and in 2015 he won two bronze medals at the
Atlantic Bowls Championships. He also won the Private greens league championship pairs in 2021 with Sam Barkley. == References ==