Former Irish Eurovision star writes new Cork anthem to inspire hurlers ahead of All-Ireland final

Irish Independent

14-07-2025

Dunne hails from Douglas Road in Cork but is now based in the US.
A nephew of the late taoiseach Jack Lynch, his career highlight was having his song, Happy Man, selected to represent Ireland in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest in Israel.
Dunne's song beat other entrants including Red Hurley and future ­triple Eurovision winner, Johnny Logan.
He came fifth in Jerusalem and his song sold well across Europe, soaring to No 3 in the Irish charts, ultimately selling over 250,000 copies.
Dunne appeared on RTÉ's Late Late Show with Gay Byrne and toured widely.
It would be fantastic if the song caught on in Cork
Now, he has written a song Cork My Home which he is hoping will become an unofficial Rebel anthem after The Banks of my Own Lovely Lee.
'Eurovision was definitely my biggest break,' he said.
'I have so many great memories of Happy Man. Melodies are my strength. That's why I am so pleased with Cork My Home. It would be fantastic if the song caught on in Cork.'
The singer-songwriter said he could not be prouder if his ballad ended up being sung in pubs across the Rebel capital.
Plans are under way to have the song performed by various Cork choirs.
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Being a nephew of Mr Lynch – who won All-Ireland medals in both ­hurling and football for Cork – makes next ­Sunday's Croke Park showdown with Tipperary all the more special.
A music graduate of University College Cork (UCC), some year ago he relocated to Pennsylvania where his career is now based.
As well as performing across the US, Dunne annually leads tourist groups back to Ireland where he shows off his native country with a mixture of ­history, heritage, music and culture.
One of the highlights of the tour is a special concert by Dunne.
He plans to lead his latest American tour group to Ireland next autumn.
However, he has had to drop the 't' from his first name in the US as it led to mispronunciations and misspellings.
Dunne has continued writing songs but has also written several books, the latest of which – Athenry – A Famine Tale of Love and Survival – will be launched in Cork City Library on August 23 as part of Heritage Week.
The book was partly inspired by the beloved Irish song, The Fields of Athenry.
It is being published by Mercier Press – with Cork historian and author Michelle O'Mahony assisting with the famine reference material.
Ms O'Mahony – who wrote a ­critically acclaimed book about the Famine in Cork – said Dunne's book is very timely as next autumn marks the 180th anniversary of the devastating potato blight which led to the Famine.