Thomas "Theo" Dunne (22 February 1937 – 12 February 2023) was an Irish

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 played for Shelbourne in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

. He also managed UCD for over 20 years.

Playing career

A boyhood fan of

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

, Dunne was overlooked by the club before joining Home Farm after a successful trial. Tiring of the travel to play for Home Farm, he was playing locally before joining the Shelbourne B team. A successful debut against Drumcondra resulted in Dunne being called up to Shelbourne's first team. Dunne's Shelbourne career yielded a

title in 1962 and two

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

medals in 1960 and 1963 when he

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ed the team. He subsequently captained Shelbourne in a

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

tie with

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...

Managerial career

After retiring from playing, Dunne became involved in management and was assistant manager of

for a two-year spell. He had a long association with UCD and was in charge when they shocked Shamrock Rovers to win the

in 1984. Dunne also took charge of Home Farm for several seasons.

Personal life and death

Dunne's nephew,

Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former footballer and current television pundit for BT Sport, who played as a defender. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Dunne began his pro ...

, made 431

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

appearances, including 253 for

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. His son,

Tommy Dunne Tomás Dunne (born 21 May 1974) is an Irish hurling coach and former player who is from Toomevara, County Tipperary in Ireland. He is the current coach of the Tipperary senior hurling team. Dunne enjoyed a distinguished playing career with Toom ...

, also won League of Ireland and FAI Cup medals before becoming involved in team management. Dunne died on 12 February 2023, at the age of 85.

Honours

As a player

Shelbourne *

: 1961–62 *

: 1959–60, 1962–63 (c)

As a manager

UCD *

: 1983–84 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1980–81, 1994–95, 1995–96

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Theo 1937 births 2023 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Men's association football midfielders League of Ireland players Shelbourne F.C. players Republic of Ireland association football managers