Keith Dunne (born 10 February 1982) is an Irish footballer. Dunne is a versatile right sided winger who can play on either wing and he also has experience playing as a striker.

Career

Keith was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and played with junior side, Verona, before moving to the United States to take up a place on a soccer scholarship in 1999. There, he played college football in Atlanta, before returning home to Dublin where he played with another junior club, Ashtown Villa. Keith was quickly snapped up by then St. Patrick's Athletic manager, Eamon Collins in March 2003, and made a number of appearances for the Saints over three seasons in the Premier Division. During his time with Pats, he played in the 2003

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

Final against

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of I ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

, a game they lost 2–0. Earlier that season Dunne played a part in beating the same opposition helping Pats to victory in the 2003

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

Final. Dunne, with over 70 appearances under his belt in the top flight, then left

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

in January 2006 to spend time with his family in America, before once again returning to his native shores. And he soon found himself back in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

, when ex-St. Pats coach, Gerry Scully invited the Blanchardstown-based player to join him at

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

. In his first season at Dundalk, he helped the club to second place in the 2006 First Division and a 3–2 playoff win over

Waterford United Waterford Football Club formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930. Originally the ...

. In the 2007 season, Dunne again was a regular in the Dundalk first team helping them to the top of the table by mid-season. However, a decline in Dundalk's form saw the Lilywhites finish 3rd in the First Division table and they were eventually defeated by

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

in a one off 2nd vs 3rd place play-off to decide who would play

for a Premier Division spot. Dunne was released at the end of the 2007 season by Dundalk but within a week he signed for Shelbourne on 29 November 2007. Dunne made his Shelbourne debut during a

1st round tie on 24 March 2008 against Sporting Fingal at

Morton Stadium Morton Stadium, or the National Athletics Stadium, is an athletics stadium in Santry Demesne, Santry in Ireland. Often called Santry Stadium, it is the centre for athletics events in Dublin city and the home track of Clonliffe Harriers. Manag ...

, a match Shelbourne won 6–5 on penalties after a 2–2 draw after extra-time. He scored his first Shelbourne goal during a 5–0 league victory over Kildare County at

Tolka Park Tolka Park () is an Ireland, Irish association football ground located in the Northside Dublin, north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, Dublin, Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Irelan ...

on 16 May 2008.Report: Shelbourne 5 – 0 Kildare County
→ www.extratime.ie Dunne departed Shelbourne mid-way through the 2008 season. He made 11 league and cup appearances for Shels, scoring 1 goal in the process. He later joined Leinster Senior League side Phoenix F.C.before moving on to Tolka Rovers and Glebe North. In July 2011 Keith joined Athletic Union League Premier A side Corduff FC where he was appointed Captain from his first pre-season game. Dunne started the season in flying form scoring goals on a regular basis for Corduff. In November on the back of some excellent performances for both Corduff and the AUL Oscar Traynor Panel where he scored 6 goals in 2 games he was "approached" by follow AUL Side

Sheriff Y.C. Sheriff Youth Club is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Sheriff Street, Dublin. Their senior team plays in the Athletic Union League (Dublin), Athletic Union League. They ha ...

to join them, he transferred to YC in Dec 2011 but has yet to play any games for them due to Injury. In January 2012 rumours have started that Dunne may return to Corduff for the rest of the season due to differences with the Manager of YC. Cousin of Jason McGuinness.

Honours

: 1 ** 2003 – St. Patrick's Athletic

References

External links

Keith Dunne' profile at www.shelbournefc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Keith Living people 1982 births Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from County Dublin League of Ireland players Shelbourne F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Thomas University alumni Tolka Rovers F.C. players Men's association football wingers 21st-century Irish sportsmen