Dunne or Dunn is an Irish surname, derived from the Irish ''Ó Duinn'' and ''Ó Doinn'', meaning "dark" or "brown." The name Dunne in Ireland is derived from the Ó Duinn and the Ó Doinn

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

sept A sept () is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used both in Scotland and in Ireland, where it may be translated as Irish , meaning "progeny" or "seed", and may indicate the descendants of a person ...

s who were based in

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

and

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. These septs in turn are descendants of the O'Regan noble family. It is in these counties that the majority of descendants can still be found. Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the Dunn family in Ireland was Ó Duinn or Ó Doinn. Both Gaelic names are derived from the Gaelic word ''donn'', which means "brown". Ó Doinn is the genitive case of ''donn''. First found in county Meath, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. Variations: Dunn, Dunne, Dun, Duen, O'Dunne, O'Doyne, Doine, Doin, O'Dunn. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Dunnes were one of the chiefly families of the Ui Failghe who in turn were a tribe from the

Dumnonii The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a Britons (historical), British List of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes, tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Cornwall and Devon (and some areas of present-day Dorset and Somerset) in the further pa ...

Laigin The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinste ...

who were the third wave of

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

to settle in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

during the first century BC.

Dunne Castles

The Dunnes formerly owned a number of castles in the midlands of Ireland. Today little remains of most of these castles, many were destroyed during the

Cromwellian Invasion of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

Tinnahinch Castle

The principal seat of the Dunne family was Tinnahinch Castle. Originally known as "Baun Riaganach", the castle was built by Tadhg MacLaighnigh Ui Duinn in 1475 and was the residence of the chief of the Dunne's. Tinnahinch Castle was located at the Barrow River, one mile south of Tinnahinch bridge. The name ''Tinnahinch'' originally means "house of the island", a tributary stream of the Barrow river surrounding the castle gives it the appearance of an island. Tinnahinch Castle was destroyed by during the Cromwellian Invasion by forces led by Colonel

John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson w ...

in 1653. At the time it was strongly defended by Charles Dunne and it required a full park of artillery from the invading forces to level the castle. After the destruction of Tinnahinch Castle the principal seat of the Dunne family moved to Brittas Castle. Unfortunately there remains nothing of the original castle apart from a wall which may have been part of the original building.

Brittas Castle

After the destruction of Tinnahinch Castle the Dunne Chief built a new home at Brittas, near

Clonaslee Clonaslee () is a village in north County Laois, Ireland, situated in the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains on the R422 Mountmellick to Birr road. Clonaslee is approximately 100 km west of Dublin, and is close to the towns of Portl ...

, County Laois. Originally there was a thatched lodge located there and the O'Duinns built a mansion at his location. In 1869, Major-General Francis Plunkett Dunne built a neo-gothic mansion at this location. The house had extensive gardens and also lake which was originally created as a reservoir. In 1942 the building was burned down in a fire.

Ballinakill Castle

It was a coursed rubble and limestone building built between the River Clodiagh and River Gorragh by the Dunnes on the location of an earlier castle which was destroyed by Cromwellian invasion forces. It was built by Colonel Terence O'Dunne in 1680 who was killed at the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

and is buried at the graveyard in

Killeigh Killeigh (, meaning "church of the field") is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located around south of the county town of Tullamore, on the N80 national secondary road; the Slieve Bloom Mountains lie to the south. The village of Kill ...

Coolnamoney Castle

Teige O'Doyne built the Dunne castle Coolnamoney Lower near the Glenlahan River. Not much is left of the castle today, but some of the original features can be seen in the ruins.

Castlebrack Castle

Castlebrack Castle was built by Tadhg MacLaighnigh Ui Duinn in 1475. It was built to be occupied by the

Tanist Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist (; ; ) is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Mann, to succeed to ...

, which was the name of the position held by the clan's deputy chief. This castle was second in size and importance to Tinnahinch Castle, which was the principal residence of the Dunnes. Terence O'Dunne completed a major refurbishment of the castle in 1688, however by 1838, all that was left of the castle was ruins.

Clarahill Castle

Clarahill Castle was built by a junior/younger branch of the Dunne family. It was built in 1600, and in 1900 it was destroyed for road material.

Ballinahemmy Castle

The Dunnes also built Ballinahemmy Castle near the town of Corrigeen, in County Laois, and its location is marked on the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map.

Raskeen Castle

Raskeen Castle was built by Donal O'Dunne in 1584 and destroyed in 1691.

Notable people with the surname Dunne

Alex Dunne Alexander Dunne (; born 11 November 2005) is an Irish racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Rodin Motorsport as part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and serves as a reserve driver in Formula E for McLare ...

(born 2005), Irish racing driver * Ben Dunne (1908–1983), Irish entrepreneur and former director of

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. It was founded by Ben Dunne (businessman, born 1908), Ben Dunne in 1944. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain al ...

Benny Dunne Benny Dunne (born 22 September 1980) is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Tipperary senior team. He joined the team in 2002 and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement in 2011. Younger brother of cur ...

(born 1980), Irish hurler *

Bobby Dunne Bobby Dunne (28 March 1949 – 13 November 1998 (aged 49) was an Australian professional featherweight, feather/super featherweight Boxing, boxer of the 1960s and '70s who won the List of Commonwealth Boxing Council Champions#Featherweight, Co ...

(1949–1992), Australian boxer of the 1960s and '70s *

Bernard Dunne Bernard Dunne (born 6 February 1980) is an Irish former professional boxer and a former WBA (Regular), and European Super Bantamweight champion. On Saturday 21 March 2009, Dunne defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA ...

(born 1980), Irish professional boxer *

Colin Dunne Colin Dunne (born 1968) is an English-Irish dancer and choreographer, best known for being a principal lead dancer in ''Riverdance'' in the 1990s. A leading figure in the world of traditional Irish dance, Dunne performed with ''Riverdance'' betw ...

(born 1968), professional Irish dancer * Conor Dunne (born 1992), Irish cyclist, brother of

Katy Dunne Katy Dunne (born 16 February 1995) is a British tennis player. Dunne has won nine singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, ITF Circuit. On 28 May 2018, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 212, and in ...

Cyril Dunne Cyril Dunne (1941 – 5 December 2024) was an Irish hurler, Gaelic football player and manager. At club level he played with St Grellan's and Milltown, while he was also a member of the Galway senior teams as a dual player. Playing career ...

(1941–2024), Irish Gaelic footballer * David Dunne (born 1995), Irish hurler *

Dominick Dunne Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 – August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He began his career in film and television as a producer of the pioneering gay film '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970) and a ...

(1925–2009), American writer and investigative journalist *

Dominique Dunne Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 – November 4, 1982) was an American actress. Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, she made her on-screen debut with the television film '' Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker'' (1979) and played ...

(1959–1982), American actress, daughter of Dominick Dunne *

Edmund Francis Dunne Count Edmund Francis Dunne, (July 30, 1835 – October 4, 1904) born Edmund Francis O'Dunne, was an American politician and jurist who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Arizona Territory. During his early career he served in the C ...

(1835–1904), Chief Justice of the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

, founder of

San Antonio, Florida San Antonio, or unofficially "''San Ann''" or "''San An''" as the locals call it, is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, m ...

* Edmund Michael Dunne (1864–1929), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Peoria *

Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne (October 12, 1853 – May 24, 1937) was an American political figure, politician, lawyer, and jurist who was the 38th mayor of Chicago from 1905 to 1907 and the List of Governors of Illinois, 24th Governor of Illino ...

(1853–1937), American politician * Edward Joseph Dunne (1848–1910), Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Dallas * Emmett Dunne (born 1956), Australian rules footballer *

Finley Peter Dunne Finley Peter Dunne (born Peter Dunne; July 10, 1867 – April 24, 1936) was an American humorist, journalist and writer from Chicago. In 1898 Dunne published ''Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War'', his first collection of the nationally syndicated M ...

(1867–1936), American author, writer and humorist * Lawrence Francis "Frank" Dunne (1898–1937), Australian cartoonist * Francis Charlton "Diver" Dunne (1875–1937), Australian rules footballer *

Gordon Dunne Gordon Dunne (4 April 1959 – 20 June 2021) was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 2011 until June 2021. Biography Born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Du ...

(1959–2021), Northern Irish politician *

Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for portraying Jack Goodman in ''An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and Paul Hackett in '' After Hours'' (1985), for which he was nominat ...

(born 1955), American actor and film director, son of Dominick Dunne * Hannah Dunne (born 1990), American actress, daughter of actor Griffin Dunne and actress Carey Lowell *

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during Classical Hollywood cinema, the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she perf ...

(1898–1990), American actress * Lady Jasmine Dunne (born 1973) *

J. W. Dunne John William Dunne (2 December 1875 – 24 August 1949) was a British soldier, aeronautical engineer and philosopher. As a young man he fought in the Second Boer War, before becoming a pioneering aeroplane designer in the early years of the 20t ...

(1875–1949), Irish born Aeronautical Inventor and philosopher, son of Irish born Sir John Hart Dunne * Jeff Dunne (1956–2020), Australian rules footballer * James E. Dunne (1882–1942), mayor of Providence 1927–1939 *

Jimmy Dunne (footballer, born 1905) James Dunne (3 September 1905 – 14 November 1949) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Southampton. Dunne was also a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams: the ...

(1905–1949), Irish international footballer * Jimmy Dunne (footballer born 1935), Irish footballer, son of

Jimmy Dunne (footballer born 1947) James Christopher Dunne (born 1 December 1947, in Dublin) is an Irish former professional footballer. He played as a central defender or midfielder. He went from Shelbourne to Millwall in 1966 but didn't play first team for Millwall, before mov ...

, Irish footballer *

Joe Dunne Joseph John Dunne (born 25 May 1973) is an Irish Manager (association football), football manager and former association football, footballer. He is youth team manager at Gillingham F.C., Gillingham. Dunne played as a defender (association fo ...

(born 1973), Irish footballer * John Dunne (disambiguation), multiple people * Karen Dunne (born 1967), American track and road cyclist *

, (born 1995), British tennis player, sister of Conor Dunne * Liam Dunne (footballer) (born 1971), Irish footballer * Liam Dunne (born 1968), Irish hurler * Louisa Dunne (1892-1967), English murder victim * Martin Dunne (English footballer) (1887–unknown), English footballer * Michael Dunne (disambiguation), multiple people *

Olivia Dunne Olivia Paige Dunne (born October 1, 2002) is an American influencer and former artistic gymnast. She is also a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and former member of the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics team. In 20 ...

(born 2002), American gymnast and internet personality * Paddy Dunne (Gaelic footballer) * Paddy Dunne (politician) (1928–2006), Irish politician * Pat Dunne (1943–2015), Irish football goalkeeper * Patrick Dunne (priest) (1818–1900), Irish priest active in Australia *

Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English professional wrestler best known under the ring name Pete Dunne. As of April 2017, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, and is one-half of the New Catch Republic wit ...

, professional wrestler who is the WWE United Kingdom Champion and appears on NXT and NXT UK *

Peter Dunne Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a New Zealand retired politician. Dunne was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ōhāriu electorate and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017, first as a member of the Labour Party from 1984 to 1 ...

(born 1954), New Zealand politician * Philip Russell Rendel Dunne (1904–1965), MC (1943), Unionist M.P. 1935–1937 *

Philip Dunne (writer) Philip Ives Dunne (February 11, 1908 – June 2, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director and producer, who worked prolifically from 1932 until 1965. He spent the majority of his career at 20th Century Fox. He crafted well regarded ro ...

(1908–1992), Hollywood screenwriter and director *

Philip Dunne (Ludlow politician) Philip Martin Dunne (born 14 August 1958) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ludlow constituency in Shropshire from 2005 to 2024. He is a member of the Conservative Party. He has been a farmer since 19 ...

(born 1958), British politician *

Philippa Dunne Philippa Dunne is an Irish actress and writer. She is known for co-writing and starring in the RTÉ comedy '' The Walshes'', as well as her roles as Anne Flynn in ''Motherland'' and its spin-off ''Amandaland'', Geraldine Devlin in '' Derry Girl ...

, Irish actress and writer *

Reginald Dunne Reginald William Dunne (June 1898 – 10 August 1922) was Battalion Commandant of the London Battalion, IRA and one of two men hanged for the murder of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson. Dunne, the only child of Robert and Mary Dunne, was born (as ...

(Irish Republican Army), assassin *

Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former professional footballer and current television pundit for TNT Sports, who played as a centre-back. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Du ...

(born 1979), Irish footballer * Robin Dunne (born 1976), Canadian actor * Ross Dunne (born 1948), Australian rules footballer * Seamus Dunne (1930–2016), Irish footballer *

Seán Dunne (politician) Seán Dunne (18 December 1918 – 25 June 1969) was a trade union leader and Irish Labour Party politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1948 to 1957 and from 1961 to 1969. Early life Dunne was born in Waterford, to Michael Dunne, an RIC ...

(1918–1969), Irish Labour Party politician *

Stephen Dunne (actor) Francis Michael Dunne (January 13, 1918 – September 28, 1977) was an American actor, radio personality and disc jockey. He was active in television and films from 1945 to 1973, and was also credited as Steve Dunn, Michael Dunne, Stephan Dunne, ...

(1918–1977), American actor * Tal Dunne (born 1987), Welsh-born Irish-Israeli professional basketball player for Israeli team Ironi Nes Ziona * Thomas Dunne (disambiguation), multiple people * Thomas L. Dunne (born 1946), American publisher of

Thomas Dunne Books Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction. History The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...

Tom Dunne Thomas Dunne is an Irish radio broadcaster with Newstalk, and a singer/songwriter with the band Something Happens. Prior to joining Newstalk, Dunne worked on Today FM, presenting his "Pet Sounds" radio program, which began airing in 1999. D ...

, musician and Irish radio DJ * Tommy Dunne (footballer born 1927) (1927–1988), Irish footballer * Tommy Dunne (footballer born 1972), Irish footballer * Tommy Dunne (born 1974), Irish hurler *

Tony Dunne Anthony Peter Dunne (24 July 19418 June 2020) was an Irish footballer who played as a left-back. Born in Dublin, he began his career with youth side Stella Maris before signing for Drumcondra-based Shelbourne, with whom he won the FAI Cup in h ...

(1941–2020), Irish footballer * Veronica Dunne (singer) (1927–2021), Irish singer and singing teacher

Other

* '' I Am Mary Dunne'', novel *

Dunne-za The Dane-zaa (ᑕᓀᖚ, also spelled Dunne-za, or Tsattine) are an Athabaskan-speaking group of First Nations people. Their traditional territory is around the Peace River in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Today, about 1,600 Dane-zaa re ...

References

External links

* {{surname English-language surnames Surnames of Irish origin Anglicised Irish-language surnames Irish families