Anthony Peter Dunne (24 July 19418 June 2020) 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 lea ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. 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 ...

, he began his career with youth side Stella Maris before signing for Drumcondra-based Shelbourne, with whom he won the

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 ...

in his second year in the senior team in 1960. That year, he moved to England to play for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, for whom he made more than 500 appearances in 13 years, winning the First Division in 1965 and 1967, the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

in 1963 and the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

in 1968. After being released in 1973, he signed for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, making another almost 200 appearances in six years, before playing a single season with the Detroit Express in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

in 1979. Dunne won 33 caps for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

between 1962 and 1975, and was named Irish Footballer of the Year in 1969. After retiring, he had a brief spell as manager of Norwegian club

Steinkjer FK Steinkjer FK is a Norway, Norwegian football (soccer), football club from the town of Steinkjer (town), Steinkjer, currently playing in the 4. divisjon, the fifth tier in the Norwegian football league system, Norwegian league system, after being r ...

in 1982–83.

Club career

Early career

Born in

on 24 July 1941, Dunne played for Stella Maris as a schoolboy and Shelbourne from 1958 to 1960. Having helped Shelbourne win the FAI Youth Cup in 1959, he won the

with them the following year, beating Cork Hibernians 2–0 in the final.

Manchester United

A week after the final, on 26 April 1960, he was signed by

for £5,000 as cover for

Noel Cantwell Noel Euchuria Cornelius Cantwell (28 February 1932 – 8 September 2005) was an Irish football player and sometime cricketer. Club career Cantwell was born in Cork, Ireland, and was educated at the Roman Catholic Presentation Brothers College ...

and Shay Brennan. His debut for United came against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

on 15 October 1960, playing at left-back alongside Maurice Setters. He helped Manchester United win the

in 1963, and the First Division title

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 ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. His highest honour came as part of the side that won the 1968 European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in the final. This was despite having ruptured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

in the quarter-final of the competition against Gornik Zabrze. He made 535 appearances for Manchester United, behind only

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (11 October 1937 – 21 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, left winger or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member ...

and

Bill Foulkes William Anthony Foulkes ( or ; 5 January 1932 – 25 November 2013) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United in the Busby Babes teams of the 1950s, and also in the 1960s. His favoured position was centre-half. For Manchester ...

at the time of his departure in 1973.

Bolton Wanderers

Dunne was released by Manchester United following the 1972–73 season, and signed for newly promoted Second Division side

in August 1973, though he returned to Manchester United for a testimonial match two months later. In six years with Bolton, he made almost 200 appearances and helped them win the Second Division in 1977–78.

Detroit Express

He joined Detroit Express in the

(NASL) in 1979.

International career

He made his full international debut in the 3–2 home defeat by Austria on 8 April 1962. Over 13 years, he earned 33 caps, appearing in both full-back positions and at centre-half. He captained his country on four occasions. He was named Irish Footballer of the Year in 1969.

Management career

After retiring from professional football, Dunne returned to Bolton as an assistant manager from 1979 to 1981; he then replaced his former Manchester United teammate

as manager of Norwegian club

in 1982–1983.

Personal life

Dunne lived in Sale and ran a driving range in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

. He died on 8 June 2020, aged 78.

Honours

Shelbourne

: 1959–60

Manchester United

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1964–65, 1966–67 *

: 1962–63 *

: 1967–68 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

Bolton Wanderers

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1977–78

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

Irish football greats @ fai.ie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Tony 1941 births 2020 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Shelbourne F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Detroit Express players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Association footballers from Dublin (city) League of Ireland players Stella Maris F.C. players Men's association football defenders UEFA Champions League–winning players Republic of Ireland expatriate association football managers Irish expatriates in Norway Republic of Ireland association football managers Steinkjer FK managers Expatriate football managers in Norway English Football League players 20th-century Irish sportsmen