Louis Anthony Dunne (born 7 September 1998) 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 le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, for

Hayes & Yeading United Hayes & Yeading United Football Club is an association football club based in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England. The club was formed in 2007 from a merger of Hayes Football Club (founded in 1909) and Yeading Football Club (f ...

, on loan from

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

club Chelmsford City. Dunne is the son of former Colchester United player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Joe Dunne Joseph John Dunne (born 25 May 1973) is an Irish Manager (association football), football manager and former association football, footballer who is currently assistant manager of Newport County A.F.C., Newport County. Dunne played as a defen ...

and began his career at the same club at the age of eight, progressing through the club's Academy. He made his professional debut for Colchester in March 2016, and has represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

at under-15, under-17 and under-18 levels. He had his first spell away from Colchester on loan with

side

Concord Rangers Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Canvey Island in Essex, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road ...

in 2017. He then joined

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

on loan in January 2020. He was released by Colchester in July 2020. Prior to the 2020–21 campaign, Dunne returned to Farnborough.

Club career

Born in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, Dunne is the son of former Colchester United player,

and Hall of Fame member

. Louis was born just 36 hours after Joe had played for the Colchester first team in

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

, and his manager at the time

Steve Wignall Steven Leslie Wignall (born 17 September 1954) is an English former professional football manager and player. During his playing career, Wignall, who played as a central defender, made over 600 appearances in the Football League. Career Playing ...

wanted his side to go out against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

following his birth to "win for Louis". Dunne started his career with Colchester's Academy at the age of eight and joined the club's Elite Football Programme in 2011 at

Thurstable School Thurstable School is a mixed (ages 11–18) secondary academy school, sports college and sixth form situated in the village of Tiptree, Essex, England. The school is about 8 miles south of Colchester. Controversy Thurstable gained some notoriet ...

in Tiptree. He was offered a youth scholarship by the club in September 2012, and during the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season he was playing above his age group with the under-15 and under-16 Colchester United sides. He again stepped up during the 2013–14 season, regularly playing for the under-18 side. Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Dunne was given the shirt number 41, and manager

Tony Humes Anthony Humes (born 19 March 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently director of football at English club Colchester United. Humes played as a defender in the Football League for Ipswich Town bet ...

named him in his matchday squad to face Oldham Athletic in League One on 18 August, but he was an unused substitute. Dunne signed a three-year Professional Development contract with the club in January 2016. New manager Kevin Keen named Dunne in his matchday squad for Colchester's home game against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

on 12 March 2016. He was introduced as a 77th-minute substitute in place of West Ham United loanee

Elliot Lee Elliot Robert Lee (born 16 December 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Wrexham. Lee started his career at West Ham United, where he was loaned to Colchester United, Southend United, Blackpool and curren ...

during the 3–3 with the second-placed side. Keen then named Dunne in his starting eleven for Colchester's home tie with Burton Albion at the Colchester Community Stadium on 23 April. He started the match, but was taken off at half-time for

George Moncur George Anthony Moncur (born 18 August 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Leyton Orient. The son of former West Ham United midfielder John, Moncur came through the West Ham United Academy after a spe ...

when the U's were 1–0 down. The game finished 3–0 and relegated Colchester to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

. During the 2016–17 season, Dunne failed to make a league appearance under

John McGreal John Leslie McGreal (born 2 June 1972) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently an U21s coach at Ipswich Town. He began his career at Tranmere Rovers, making his debut in the 1991–92 season. He becam ...

, but did make a single appearance in each of the three cup competitions Colchester were competing in.

side

signed Dunne on an initial month-long youth loan on 25 August 2017. He made his debut on 26 August in Concord's 2–1 defeat by St Albans City. He made five league appearances. He suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

during training in early 2018 which would rule him out of action for around nine months. Dunne signed a two-year contract extension with Colchester in May 2018. On 25 January 2020, Dunne joined Southern League Premier Division South side

on loan until the end of February. He made his debut the same day in a 2–0 home win against Beaconsfield Town. On 2 March, his loan was extended until the end of the season. Dunne was one of 16 players to be released by Colchester United in the summer of 2020. Ahead of the 2020–21 campaign, Dunne returned to

. On 30 April 2021, Dunne signed for

club Chelmsford City. In the final months of 2023, Dunne played for Coggeshall Town, after he suffered a serious injury resulting in surgery the previous December. On 1 January 2024, Dunne joined

on a one-month long loan.

International career

Dunne is eligible to represent the

through his father

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

. During the 2012–13 season, Dunne was called up by the under-15 side for a training camp. He then made his under-15 debut on 18 April 2013, starting in the 3–0 defeat to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Dunne progressed to the under-17 team for the 2014–15 season, making his debut against

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in August 2014, and then playing against

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

the same year. Following his professional debut for Colchester United, Dunne was called up to the under-18 squad for their friendly match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 27 March 2016 at St George's Park. He started in the match, playing the first 45 minutes of what ended as a 4–1 defeat for Ireland.

Coaching career

In 2021, at the age of 22, Dunne returned to former club Colchester United as an academy coach. Upon joining Chelmsford City as a player, Dunne began coaching in the club's academy.

Career statistics

References

External links

Louis Dunne profile
at the official

Colchester United F.C. Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Louis 1998 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Colchester Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Colchester United F.C. players Concord Rangers F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Coggeshall Town F.C. players Hayes & Yeading United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Essex Senior Football League players English people of Irish descent Association football coaches Colchester United F.C. non-playing staff Chelmsford City F.C. non-playing staff