P. A. McHugh

He entered St Patrick's diocesan college, Cavan, a Catholic seminary, but left without taking orders.

In 1900, standing for the reunited Irish Parliamentary Party, he was again challenged in North Leitrim by a Unionist, but again won comfortably, with 91% of the vote.

In April 1901 he was imprisoned for six months following a conviction for ‘seditious libel’ on account of an article on Jury Packing in Sligo published in his newspaper.

[3] The article had attacked jurymen who had convicted two men of intimidating persons who rented farms from which the former owners had been evicted.

[4] In September the following year, he stood before the Irish Court of Bankruptcy after a petition from the Crown Solicitor for Sligo,[5] but this apparently did not affect his political standing.