Cyril Dunne (1941 – 5 December 2024) was an Irish hurler,

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

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 Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

Playing career

Son of John "Tull" Dunne who won All-Ireland SFC medals with Galway in 1934 and 1938. Dunne had his first sporting success as a schoolboy when he won the Connacht Colleges SHC title in 1959. His club career saw him play with St Grellan's in

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. 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-centur ...

. On the inter-county scene, Dunne first play for

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

as a member of the minor team that won the Connacht MFC title in 1959. He was immediately drafted onto the junior team and also claimed provincial honours in this grade in 1960, before making his senior team debut. Dunne won the first of four successive Connacht SFC medals in 1963. He also made four successive All-Ireland final appearances at this time, on a team managed by his father, with victories in 1964, 1965 and 1966. Dunne also claimed a

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

medal in 1965. He won further Connacht SFC medals in 1968 and 1970, while he also lined out with the

Galway senior hurling team The Galway county hurling team ( ) represents County Galway, Galway in hurling and is governed by Galway GAA, the County board (Gaelic games), county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-co ...

in the Munster SHC. Dunne's performances at inter-county level earned his selection to the

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

team in both codes. He won a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () 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 and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medal with the provincial footballers in 1969. Dunne retired from inter-county activity in March 1971.

Coaching career

Dunne began his coaching career at club level when St Grellan's won back-to-back Galway SFC titles in 1979 and 1980. He moved to the inter-county scene as manager of Galway's under-21 team in 1983. Dunne served as Galway's senior team manager between 1984 and 1986 and won a Connacht SFC title in 1985.

Death

Dunne died on 5 December 2024, at the age of 83.

Honours

Player

;St Joseph's College *

Connacht Colleges Senior Hurling Championship The Connacht GAA Post-Primary Schools Senior A Hurling Championship is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is the highest inter-schools hurling competition in the ...

: 1959 ;Galway *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship and shortened to Connacht SFC, is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the county teams of Connacht particip ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

: 1964–65 * Connacht Junior Football Championship: 1960 * Connacht Minor Football Championship:

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

;Connacht *

: 1967

Management

;St Grellan's *

Galway Senior Football Championship The Galway Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It ...

: 1979, 1980 ;Galway *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Cyril 1941 births 2024 deaths Dual players St Grellan's Gaelic footballers Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers Galway inter-county hurlers Connacht inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Connacht inter-provincial hurlers Gaelic football managers