Kevin Hughes opens up on playing football after the passing of his brother

Former Tyrone midfielder Kevin Hughes spoke candidly and honestly about playing for the Tyrone minors following the passing of his brother Paul in 1997.

Paul, an older brother to Kevin, was killed in a car crash on the Ballygawley-Dungannon road when he was just 22-years-old. His funeral took place just days before Tyrone's All-Ireland minor semi-final replay with Kerry in a game that Hughes played. The two-time All-Ireland winner was brilliant on the day and said that playing for Tyrone allowed him a release from the passing of his brother and that it was ultimately an easy decision for him to make.

"It's funny on the night of the drawn Kerry game my brother was standing there waiting for me," said Hughes on Tyrone: The Unbreakable Bond. "He said 'we're so proud of you our boy' and that really comforted me at the time. It surprised me because it was the first time he had ever said anything like that to me. "For him to say that to me, and that he was proud of me, and that that was the last time he ever watched me play football, for me it was an even easier decision to go out and make him prouder."

Hughes' passing followed on from the loss of Tyrone minor Paul McGirr who collapsed and later died after a collision in the Ulster semi-final against Armagh. The team had to endure a lot of grief during their run to the All-Ireland final but for Hughes football was as an outlet to escape the tragedies.

"I suppose you don't know how you cope with it until it's at your front door.  As a team we got through the loss of Paul [McGirr] and then a few months later this happens to my brother Paul. "It was an outlet I suppose and I was lucky to be involved in a great panel with a great group of lads. It gave me a focus outside of the tragedy."