Cathal Dunne Explained

Cathal Dunne
Birth Name:Cathal Dunne
Birth Place:Cork, Ireland
Instruments:Vocals
Genre:Pop, pop-rock, MOR, Trad. Irish
Years Active:1971–present
Label:CBS, Rex, EMI, Blarney
Website:http://www.cahaldunne.com

Cathal Dunne (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish singer. He is most famous for representing Ireland in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Happy Man".[1] He has since gained a following as Cahal Dunne, performing traditional Irish songs in the United States, where he now lives.

Background

Born in Cork, Ireland, Dunne is the nephew of Jack Lynch who served as Taoiseach in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974 he graduated from University College Cork and Montfort College of Performing Arts after studying music. That same year he won the Castlebar Song Contest with the song "Shalom". Two years later he represented Ireland at the Yamaha Music Festival with his own composition "Lover, Not a Wife".[2] Also in 1976 he released a single, "Bad Boy" as well as his first top ten hit in Ireland, "Danny".[3] During these years he played with his backing band, Stateside (and later, The Formula), on the Irish club circuit.[4] In 1981, he released "We'll be there", a song for Fianna Fáil's 1981 general election campaign.[5]

Eurovision

In 1979 he entered his own composition "Happy Man" into the Irish National Song Contest. Competing against former Irish Eurovision entrants Tina Reynolds and Red Hurley and future winner Johnny Logan, he won the contest easily with 36 points and thus gained the right to represent Ireland at that year's Eurovision Song Contest.[6] Performing in Jerusalem at the final in March, he achieved a respectable fifth place with 80 points.[7] The single went on to sell well in Europe and reached No.3 in the Irish charts. The song was produced by Nicky Graham.

Emigration

In February 1982 he played some concerts in Michigan in the United States. These tempted him to move there permanently and the following year, Dunne emigrated from Ireland. Since then, Dunne has made a name for himself as a singer of traditional Irish ballads and has released a number of albums.[8] He has also performed comedy routines and show tunes.[9]

Personal life

Dunne now lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife, Kathleen and son, Ryan.[10]

Discography

Singles
Albums

[11] [12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ESC-history . Cathal Dunne in Eurovision 1979 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20071015102841/http://www.esc-history.com/details.asp?key=415 . 15 October 2007 . 2024-02-21.
  2. Web site: Biography. Official website. 25 May 2009. 6 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111006044016/http://cahaldunne.com/about/. live.
  3. Web site: Search 'Cathal Dunne' . Irish Charts . 25 May 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090602061251/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement . 2 June 2009.
  4. Web site: Dunne with backing band . Irish Showbands . 25 May 2009 . 16 May 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080516091205/http://www.irish-showbands.com/images/cahal/cathalssx.htm . live .
  5. Book: Noel Whelan . A History of Fianna Fáil: The outstanding biography of the party . 2011 . Gill & Macmillan Ltd . 978-0717147618 . 219 . 5 February 2022 . 22 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191222013610/https://books.google.com/books?id=ud_4AwAAQBAJ . live .
  6. Web site: Irish National Song Contest, 1979 . GeoCities . 25 May 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091026233701/http://geocities.com/national_finals_70s_80s/Ireland1979.html. 2009-10-26.
  7. Web site: 1979 Eurovision Song Contest . Eurovision.tv . 25 May 2009 . 28 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120728100533/http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=295 . live .
  8. Web site: Selected discography . Websterrecords . 25 May 2009 . 4 January 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090104155148/http://www.websterrecords.com/artists/cahal.html . live .
  9. Web site: Cahal Dunne - comedy CD. CD Baby. 25 May 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090622184515/http://cdbaby.com/cd/cahal2. 22 June 2009.
  10. Web site: Cathal Dunne. Irish Showbands. 25 May 2009. 15 April 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090415164447/http://www.irish-showbands.com/Bands/cahalf.htm. live.
  11. Web site: Irish Rock - Cathal Dunne discography . 24 April 2013 . 15 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150715154634/http://www.irishrock.org/irodb/bands/dunne-cathal.html . live .
  12. Web site: Official website - Releases . 24 April 2013 . 1 May 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130501003119/http://cahaldunne.com/shop/ . live .

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