 Hughes was a solicitor, when he was elected to the 27th Dáil as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo West constituency on his first attempt at the 1992 general election.He lost his seat at the 1997 general election when the constituency was combined with Mayo East and the combined Mayo constituency was reduced to 5 seats.Hughes was then appointed State Solicitor for County Mayo.