Mick Dunne
Encyclopedia
Michael ‘Mick’ Dunne was an Irish sports journalist who pioneered television coverage of Gaelic Games
.
, County Laois
, one of two sons of Francis Dunne, insurance agent, and Agnes Dunne (née Foley), schoolteacher. Educated at Clonaslee national school and Knockbeg College, County Carlow
, he went to work in the etchings library of the Irish Press in 1947, becoming Gaelic games correspondent in 1957.
which grew out of the Cuchulainn Awards in the 1960s and were established on an annual basis in 1971. He remained its driving force up to the 1990s, and before his death he was honoured with a special award for his work on the scheme.
and handball
, he helped devise the televised handball series Top Ace in 1973. It was expanded to include Mexican and American players in 1980. On his retirement he was awarded the Waterford Crystal Handball Award for special services to handball. Four communications awards presented annually by the Camogie Association
are named in his honour.
and Gaelsport magazine. He was contributing editor to High Ball magazine following its establishment by Mike Hogan
and Eoghan Corry
in 1998, having previously edited Gaelic World.
by his daughter Eileen
, a newsreader with RTÉ.
, Una, and Moira. He died on 11 August 2002.
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
.
Birth and childhood
He was born 27 May 1929 in ClonasleeClonaslee
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. located some 100 km west of Dublin...
, County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
, one of two sons of Francis Dunne, insurance agent, and Agnes Dunne (née Foley), schoolteacher. Educated at Clonaslee national school and Knockbeg College, County Carlow
County Carlow
County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, he went to work in the etchings library of the Irish Press in 1947, becoming Gaelic games correspondent in 1957.
Awards
He was central to the negotiations with sponsors to set up the annual GAA All Stars AwardsGAA All Stars Awards
The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...
which grew out of the Cuchulainn Awards in the 1960s and were established on an annual basis in 1971. He remained its driving force up to the 1990s, and before his death he was honoured with a special award for his work on the scheme.
Broadcasting
In 1970 he joined RTÉ as the station's first Gaelic games correspondent, developing the Gaelic Stadium preview programme and after the arrival of a camera unit in 1976, expanded GAA television coverage.Handball and camogie
A fan of the lesser Gaelic Games of camogieCamogie
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
and handball
Gaelic handball
Gaelic handball is a sport similar to Basque pelota, racquetball, squash and American handball . It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association...
, he helped devise the televised handball series Top Ace in 1973. It was expanded to include Mexican and American players in 1980. On his retirement he was awarded the Waterford Crystal Handball Award for special services to handball. Four communications awards presented annually by the Camogie Association
Camogie Association
The Camogie Association organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and across the world. The Association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Association.-History:...
are named in his honour.
Magazine
After his retirement he wrote regular columns for the Irish IndependentIrish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
and Gaelsport magazine. He was contributing editor to High Ball magazine following its establishment by Mike Hogan
Mike Hogan
Mike Hogan is a former NFL running back.Mike Hogan may also refer to:* Mike Hogan, member of Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries* Mike Hogan, member of Christian rock band David Crowder Band* Mike Hogan , Canadian sportscaster...
and Eoghan Corry
Eoghan Corry
Eoghan Corry is an Irish columnist, travel writer, author of sports history, and founding story-editor of the Gaelic Athletic Association Museum at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland. Since 2002 he has edited Ireland's biggest circulation travel publication, Travel Extra, and is a regular commentator on...
in 1998, having previously edited Gaelic World.
Books
Dunne contributed updates on the GAA's own records for the 1975 Our Games Annual and what was to be eventually published as the Complete handbook of Gaelic games up to 1999. Own-name works include The Star Spangled Final (1997), an account of the staging of the 1947 All-Ireland football final in New York and a history of Gaelic football in the Gardaí, The Story of the Garda GAA Club (1998). In 2010 his archive was handed over to the GAA museum in Croke ParkCroke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
by his daughter Eileen
Eileen Dunne
Eileen Dunne is an Irish newscaster and radio presenter. She currently presents RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock on RTÉ One and is afternoon newsreader on RTÉ Radio....
, a newsreader with RTÉ.
Marriage and death
Dunne married Lilly Fox, from Delvin, County Westmeath in 1956. They had three daughters, EileenEileen Dunne
Eileen Dunne is an Irish newscaster and radio presenter. She currently presents RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock on RTÉ One and is afternoon newsreader on RTÉ Radio....
, Una, and Moira. He died on 11 August 2002.