Late Peter J. McHugh helped design many of Longford's best known buildings

The death was announced on Thursday, March 13 of Peter J. McHugh of 'Carnlea', Foynes Court, Longford. Peter passed away peacefully with his wife and best friend Roisin, sons Gavin, Derek, Alan and Fergus by his side Wednesday, March 12, 2025.

He was pre-deceased by his father Hugh D. and mother Mary B., sisters Anne and Pauline, brother Hugh, father-in-law John Maguire and brother-in-law Paul.

Peter was born in 1947 in the hills over Lough Allen in north County Leitrim in the townland of Moneenatieve outside Drumkeeran. He grew up there and went to national school locally.

It most likely was experience of growing up in such a place that attracted him in later years to the writing of poet, Patrick Kavanagh, who too had a rural border county background and celebrated the beauty in simple things.

He was later educated at St Patrick’s College in Cavan and shortly after moved to Dublin where he started to nurture what became a lifelong career in the building game.

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Qualifying from Bolton Street Dublin Institute of Technology, Peter spent time as an estimator and quantity surveyor during the turbulent 1970s with a number of companies in the construction industry with some very happy years in the late 1970s and early 1980s with McInerney Construction.

He was an Associate Member of the Construction Surveyors’ Institute and a Professional Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and was admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building in 2003.

Peter met his wife Roisin while both worked in Dublin in the 1960s and they were married in 1973. After settling initially in Orwell Park in Templelogue and welcoming sons Gavin and Derek into the family, in 1981, they decided to move to Longford and closer to grandparents.

During the 1980s, Peter and Roisin welcomed sons Alan and then Fergus to their home in Foynes Court.

Peter initially worked for a short period with P.J. McLoughlin and Sons Building Contractors before establishing himself as the first consultant Quantity Surveyor in County Longford. Throughout the next thirty odd years in practice, Peter was involved as part of either the design or contractor teams for some of the best known buildings in Longford and the surrounding counties including the construction, extension and refurbishment projects at the Backstage Theatre, Longford Arms Hotel, Longford County Council’s Camlin Court offices, social housing on St Michael’s Road, commercial offices at Fee Court on Church Street, the Temperance Hall, St John’s Church Battery Road, St Mary’s Church in Newtownforbes, the Convent of Mercy in Edgeworthstown, healthcare buildings in St Joseph’s, the PJ Murphy Hall in Newtownforbes, Melview National School, C&D Pet Foods, Kenny’s Drapery store, Longford Medical Centre and Oaklands housing.

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Among the many wishes received by Peter’s family, were many stories from people who had known him through their dealings with him over the years, about how polite and professional he was but also how he would often knowing somebody might have been down on their luck waive or heavily discount charges for his work. This was always arranged in a very discrete and respectful way.

He had a strong sense that helping those locally helps everyone and was in that way a strong community man. He was involved as Chairperson of the local boy scout group for a period but was never one to court the limelight instead happy to work hard in the background for the greater good with no desire for any associated glory. Humbly going about the work that was necessary.

In more recent years, Peter suffered ill health but bore all his sickness with patience. Since his time in St. Pat’s and throughout his life, he had a love of reading and no doubt encountered the works of many of the greats. The following passage from the writings of Seneca sums up succinctly Peter’s approach to the adversity of illness.

“I may wish to be free from torture, but if the time comes for me to endure it, I’ll wish to bear it courageously with bravery and honour. Wouldn’t I prefer not to fall into war? But if war does befall me, I’ll wish to carry nobly the wounds, starvation, and other necessities of war. Neither am I so crazy as to desire illness, but if I must suffer illness, I’ll wish to do nothing rash or dishonourable. The point is not to wish for these adversities, but for the virtue that makes adversities bearable.”

Peter’s family would like to pay particular tribute to the simply fantastic team of people that took such great care of Peter in St Joseph’s Palliative Care unit who made his last days as peaceful and comfortable as they could possibly have been, to the wider palliative care and home help team who helped Peter’s family look after him at home, to Peter’s medical teams in Mullingar and the Mater hospitals, his GP Jude McIntyre and the huge support network provided for him to help him with his illnesses in recent years.

There were many other people and organisations such as the Alzheimer’s Society and the staff of its wonderful Multyfarnham Day Care centre, the Irish Cancer Society that deserve huge gratitude and recognition for the part they played in helping with Peter’s care.

In a time when it can be so easy to knock the health services in this country, Peter’s family witnessed what can only be described as a phenomenal service provision.

Peter will be sadly missed and remembered with love by his family, his wife Roisin, sons Gavin, Derek, Alan and Fergus, daughters-in-law Geraldine, Kara, Louise and Mary, adored grandchildren Rachel, Eoghan, Emmet, Roddy, Tom, Alex, Henry , Ralph and Rían, sister Carmel Garvey , brothers Leo and Tom , mother-in-law Kathleen Maguire, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and all who encountered this true gentleman.

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