He returned to Nashua to attend Crosby Academy and in 1888 he graduated from the Boston University School of Law.

[1] On August 2, 1905, Stevens resigned and Governor William Lewis Douglas appointed Sughrue to succeed him.

The Massachusetts Governor's Council suspended its rules and immediately confirmed Sughrue.

From 1907 to 1908 he was counsel for the Boston Finance Committee during its investigation into the purchase of supplies by the city.

He left this position after he was appointed public administrator for Suffolk County by Governor Curtis Guild Jr.[1] Sughrue died on April 15, 1926, at his home in Boston.