John "Tull" Dunne (26 December 1911 – 12 May 1990) was an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

coach, player, referee and

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

administrator. His

football championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

career at senior level with the Galway county team lasted ten seasons from 1932 until 1941. Born in Brackernagh,

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Dunne was the second child and eldest son born to William and Katie Dunne (née Donelan). The son of a carpenter, he was educated locally before finding employment in the local post office. Dunne first played competitive Gaelic football with the St Grellan's club. He first played for the senior team at the age of seventeen, winning a county senior championship medal in his debut season in 1929. Dunne won three more county senior championship medals. Dunne made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of eighteen when he was selected for the Galway junior team. He enjoyed one championship season with the junior team, culminating with the winning of an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal. He subsequently joined the Galway senior team and made his debut during the 1932 championship. Over the course of the next decade Dunne won

medals in 1934 and as captain of the team in 1938. He also won five

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

medals and one

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

medal. After being selected for the

inter-provincial team for the first time in 1934, Dunne was a regular choice on the starting fifteen for the rest of the decade. During that time he won three

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medals. Even as a player, Dunne became heavily involved in the administration of the game. He was appointed secretary of the Galway Football Board in 1938, a position he held until 1981. He also served on the Connacht Council and was Galway's

Central Council Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

delegate from 1971 until 1988. Dunne also refereed the 1945 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final between

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

. Dunne also had a three-decades-long tenure as coach to the Galway minor, under-21, junior and senior teams. During that time he guided the Galway minors to All-Ireland MFC titles in 1952, 1960, and 1970 and the juniors to All-Ireland success in 1958. As coach and

selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

with the Galway seniors, Dunne guided the team to All-Ireland SFC victories in 1956 and, most notably, the three-in-a-row winning side of 1964–1966, of which his son

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...

was a member. He was still on the sideline when Galway lost three All-Ireland SFCs in four years in the early 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, John 'Tull' 1911 births 1990 deaths All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final referees Connacht inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Connacht Provincial Council administrators Gaelic football coaches Gaelic football managers Gaelic football referees Gaelic football selectors Gaelic games administrators Galway County Board administrators Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers Sportspeople from Ballinasloe People from Ballinasloe Secretaries of county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association St Grellan's Gaelic footballers