  IGR J17591$-$2342 is a 527-Hz accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar that was
discovered in outburst in 2018 August. In this paper, we present
quasi-simultaneous radio and X-ray monitoring of this source during the early
part of the outburst. IGR J17591$-$2342 is highly absorbed in X-rays, with an
equivalent hydrogen absorption along the line of sight, $N_{\rm H}$, of
$\approx$4.4$\times$10$^{22}$\,cm$^{-2}$, where the Galactic column density is
expected to be $\approx$1 -- 2$\times$10$^{22}$\,cm$^{-2}$. The high absorption
suggests that the source is either relatively distant ($>$6\,kpc), or the X-ray
emission is strongly absorbed by material local to the system. Radio emission
detected by the Australia Telescope Compact Array shows that, for a given X-ray
luminosity and for distances greater than 3\,kpc, this source was exceptionally
radio loud when compared to other accreting neutron stars in outburst ($L_{\rm
X} > 10^{33}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$). For most reasonable distances, IGR J17591$-$2342
appeared as radio luminous as actively accreting, stellar-mass black hole X-ray
binaries.
