MacHugo was a merchant trading in tobacco until found guilty of smuggling, which led to revenue officers impounding his entire stock and putting him out of business.
He became involved in the United Irishman movement, acting as a link between members in Loughrea and its environs and in Dublin.
[1] He was a close associate of Francis Dillon and Peter Finnerty,[2] all of whom helped build the society's network in the town, especially among its lower-class tradesmen.
When Finnerty, as publisher of the United Irish paper the Press, was imprisoned in Dublin in spring 1798, he continued to stay in touch with the society in Loughrea via MacHugo; a report dated April 1798 stated that "There is strong ground to think that Peter Finnerty corresponds with his friends in this town thro' this man.
However, because guns and ammunition were successfully seized by the authorities, when the actual Irish Rebellion of 1798 broke out, County Galway remained quiet.