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 septs 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 or

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.

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 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.

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, 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 (2005), Racing driver * Ben Dunne (1908–1983), Irish entrepreneur and former director of Dunnes Stores * Benny Dunne (born 1980), Irish hurler * Bobby Dunne (1949–1992), Australian boxer of the 1960s and '70s * Bernard Dunne (born 1980), Irish professional boxer * Colin Dunne (born 1968), professional Irish dancer * Conor Dunne (born 1992), Irish cyclist, brother of Katy Dunne * Cyril Dunne (1941–2024), Irish Gaelic footballer * David Dunne (born 1995), Irish hurler * Dominick Dunne (1925–2009), American writer and investigative journalist * Dominique Dunne (1959–1982), American actress, daughter of Dominick Dunne * Edmund Francis Dunne (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 * Edmund Michael Dunne (1864–1929), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Peoria * Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne (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 (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 (1959–2021), Northern Irish politician * Griffin Dunne (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 (1898–1990), American actress * Lady Jasmine Dunne (born 1973) * J. W. Dunne (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) (1905–1949), Irish international footballer * Jimmy Dunne (footballer born 1935), Irish footballer, son of Jimmy Dunne (footballer, born 1905) * Jimmy Dunne (footballer born 1947), Irish footballer * Joe Dunne (born 1973), Irish footballer * John Dunne (disambiguation), multiple people * Karen Dunne (born 1967), American track and road cyclist * Katy Dunne, (born 1995), British tennis player, sister of Conor Dunne * Liam Dunne (footballer) (born 1971), Irish footballer * Liam Dunne (born 1968), Irish hurler * Martin Dunne (English footballer) (1887–unknown), English footballer * Michael Dunne (disambiguation), multiple people * Olivia Dunne (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, professional wrestler who is the WWE United Kingdom Champion and appears on NXT and NXT UK * Peter Dunne (born 1954), New Zealand politician * Philip Russell Rendel Dunne (1904–1965), MC (1943), Unionist M.P. 1935–1937 * Philip Dunne (writer) (1908–1992), Hollywood screenwriter and director * Philip Dunne (Ludlow politician) (born 1958), British politician * Philippa Dunne, Irish actress and writer * Reginald Dunne (Irish Republican Army), assassin * Richard Dunne (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) (1918–1969), Irish Labour Party politician * Stephen Dunne (actor) (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 * Tom Dunne, 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 (1941–2020), Irish footballer * Veronica Dunne (singer) (1927–2021), Irish singer and singing teacher

Other

* '' I Am Mary Dunne'', novel * Dunnes Stores * Thomas Dunne Books * Dunne-za

References

External links

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