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Writing a piece on the great Jimmy Dunne - this is the earliest photo I can find of him, from February 1926 just after he signed for Sheffield Utd. He would have only been 20 at the time.
He had gone from Rovers "B" in the LSL to the English top flight in less than a year.
He had gone from Rovers "B" in the LSL to the English top flight in less than a year.
For me he is a fascinating character quite apart from his amazing scoring exploits.
All reports refer to him as mild-mannered, quite, gentlemanly, even sensitive.
He was also a teenage revolutionary who was imprisoned & went on hunger strike.
All reports refer to him as mild-mannered, quite, gentlemanly, even sensitive.
He was also a teenage revolutionary who was imprisoned & went on hunger strike.
He got riled up ahead of the 1939 German game - shouting "Remember Aughrim, Remember 1916" as the anthem played. He worked up the team ahead of a match v Norway by telling tall tales about Brian Boru.
He quit playing (& Rovers) after being dropped for a FAI Cup semi final aged 37
He quit playing (& Rovers) after being dropped for a FAI Cup semi final aged 37
He even played & scored against Scotland for the IFA selection after receiving a death threat, calling the erstwhile anti-Treaty IRA internee a "traitor to his country".
Also just love this drawing of Jimmy Dunne. Originally from the Irish Independent but later reprinted in the match programme for his 1952 memorial game between @bfcdublin & @ShamrockRovers - the two teams he had coached.
Jimmy Dunne& #39;s wedding to Eileen McGann, July 1932 in Dolphin& #39;s Barn when he was on the books of Sheffield United & one of the most prolific stikers in Britain.
From a report in the Irish Press
From a report in the Irish Press
Last pic for now. Several reports described Dunne as being socialist in his politics. Here he is in 1933 acting as a linesman and perhaps a small gesture of solidarity for a sports day for the unemployed men of Sheffield. An industrial city hit hard by the great depression.
One item that really interested me since I& #39;ve also been researching a piece on Matthias Sindelar (in the new @ViewFootballMag ) is that Jimmy Dunne obviously was very tactically astute & talks about dropping deep as a No 9 & learning from players like Sindelar.
