James Gerard Dunne (born 19 October 1997) is an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a defender for club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and the Republic of Ireland national team. Dunne played locally in Ireland before joining the youth set-up at

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in 2007. After transferring to Burnley in 2016, he spent time on loan at Barrow (where he made his senior debut in August 2017) and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

(where he made his Football League debut in January 2018).

Club career

Born in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, Dunne began his career with St Kevin's Boys before joining the Manchester United Academy in Belfast at the age of 10.

Burnley

In July 2016, Dunne signed a two-year contract (with a further year's option in the club's favour) with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. In July 2017, he moved to National League side Barrow on a six-month loan. He made his senior debut on 5 August 2017. In early January 2018, the club confirmed Dunne's loan would not be extended and he would return to parent club Burnley. Later that month he joined

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

club

on loan for the remainder of the season. He made his Football League debut on 6 January 2018. On 21 August 2018, Dunne joined

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

side Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) on a six-month loan deal. His loan ended in January 2019. A few days later he moved on loan to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. In September 2019 he moved on loan to Fleetwood Town. On 17 September 2020, Dunne made his senior debut for Burnley in the second round of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

, in a 1–1 draw against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

which Burnley eventually won on penalties. He scored on his

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

debut on 20 September 2020, in a 4–2 defeat away at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Queens Park Rangers

On 13 July 2021, Dunne joined

for an undisclosed fee, agreeing a three-year deal. Ahead of the 2023–24 season, he dislocated his shoulder in a pre-season friendly in August. He was close to a return at the end of the month, but was not fit enough until the end of September. Following a poor start to the season, the club's fortunes improved under new manager Martí Cifuentes, who converted Dunne into a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. On 29 March 2024, Dunne scored a 92nd minute winner from twenty-five yards to secure Rangers a 2–1 victory over fellow relegation-threatened side

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, a strike later voted as the club's Goal of the Season. At the end of season awards, he was also voted Junior Hoops' Player of the Year and PFA Men's Community Champion of the Year. In the 2024–25 season, he continued to impress in the right-back position, being voted as the club's Player of the Season, also winning the Players' Player of the Year and retaining the Junior Hoops' Player of the Year.

International career

In March 2018, Dunne received a call-up to the Republic of Ireland under-21 side for the first time, making his debut on 22 March 2018 in a 3–1 friendly win over

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, replacing Corey Whelan as a substitute late in the game. On 6 November 2018, Dunne was named in the provisional senior

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

squad for the first time for the

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

on 15 November and the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

match against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

on 19 November 2018. He was omitted from the final squad, and was linked with a call-up to the Northern Ireland team, for whom he qualifies through the grandparent rule. He was called-up again by the Republic of Ireland in March 2019 but was not capped. On 23 March 2025, he made his long-awaited senior debut in a 2–1 win against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

in the 2nd leg of the UEFA Nations League relegation playoff.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Sunderland *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

runner-up: 2018–19 Individual *

Player of the Year: 2024–25 *Queens Park Rangers Goal of the Season: 2023–24

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Jimmy 1997 births Living people Association footballers from County Louth Sportspeople from Dundalk Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Premier League players St. Kevin's Boys F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers 21st-century Irish sportsmen