Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former professional footballer and current television pundit for TNT Sports, who played as a centre-back.

[6] City had signed both Dunne and Laurent Charvet as replacements for right back Richard Edghill who had suffered from a dip in form.

He marked his 29th Birthday with a goal in the 6–0 win against Portsmouth on 21 September 2008,[11] while his eighth Premier League red card against Wigan Athletic in January 2009 equalled a record set by Patrick Vieira and Duncan Ferguson.

[12] Following the signings of Kolo Touré and Joleon Lescott, it was reported that Dunne could leave the City of Manchester Stadium with Aston Villa the most likely destination.

[15] Villa manager Martin O'Neill later stated the fee paid for Dunne was £5 million and that the player had signed a four-year deal.

Following the game, Dunne praised his new teammates James Collins, Carlos Cuéllar and Stephen Warnock, claiming that their partnership in defence "seems to have worked reasonably well".

On 28 February 2010, he started for Aston Villa in their 2010 Football League Cup Final defeat to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.

On 18 March 2011, Dunne and Collins were fined a total of £200,000 – two weeks' wages each – by Villa for a drunken confrontation with club staff during a team-bonding exercise.

Ahead of the 2011–12 season, new manager Alex McLeish said because of his aerial ability and such good awareness on the ball he will be an automatic first choice at the back.

On 27 July 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes in the 1–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in the 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy held in Hong Kong.

On 12 February 2012, Dunne fractured his right clavicle in a collision with Joe Hart during a Premier League match against his former club Manchester City.

[19] Dunne travelled to the NFL team the Cleveland Browns in order to attain specialised medical care for his injury, who at the time were owned by then-chairman of Aston Villa, Randy Lerner.

[29] He was selected by Mick McCarthy to play against the likes of the Netherlands and Portugal during Ireland's successful 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, where he also scored his first competitive international goal in a 2–0 win against Estonia.

The emergence of John O'Shea, and Brian Kerr's preference for Kenny Cunningham, meant that Dunne's chances with Ireland were extremely limited during their unsuccessful attempt to qualify for UEFA Euro 2004.

Early defeats to Germany and a humiliating 5–2 loss to Cyprus, a match in which Dunne scored before giving away a penalty and being sent off,[30] ensured qualification was always beyond the Irish.

[33][34] On 8 February 2011, Dunne started and completed the full 90 minutes in Ireland's first Nations Cup game against Wales in a 3–0 win.

On 26 March 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes in the Group B Euro 2012 qualifying against Macedonia in a 2–1 victory at the Aviva Stadium.

[36][37] After the team qualified for UEFA Euro 2012 with an unprecedented 5–1 aggregate play-off win over their opponents Estonia, Dunne described it as "the best experience I've probably had in football".

On 2 June 2013, Dunne made his return to the national team for the first time in a year as a second half substitution against Georgia in a 4–0 Irish win.

Dunne made his return to the Irish team in his first competitive game for 15 months in a 1–2 loss to Sweden at the Aviva Stadium in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying.