Shane Dunphy Popular Books

Shane Dunphy Biography & Facts

Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella Maris. Since retiring from the sport, he has become recognisable to Irish television audiences as a football analyst during coverage of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and international football on RTÉ. As well as his slot with RTÉ, Dunphy has worked for its rival television station, TV3 (for which he has presented a chat show and a game show), and rival radio stations Today FM and Newstalk. He was the original presenter of The Last Word on Today FM. Between 2004 and 2006, Dunphy presented the breakfast programme on Dublin's local Newstalk 106 radio station before it became a national broadcaster. Later he moved to RTÉ Radio 1, where he presented a weekly programme, Conversations with Eamon Dunphy until 2009. He then returned to Newstalk, now broadcasting nationwide, only to leave again in 2011. Dunphy continues to write a column on football for the Irish Daily Star newspaper. Early life Dunphy grew up in Drumcondra, Dublin, in what he described as "a one-room tenement flat [with] no electricity, no hot water". He attended Saint Patrick's National School, Drumcondra. In 1958 he got a one year government scholarship to Sandymount High School but he had to work as a messenger at tweed clothing shop Kevin and Howlin. Club career A promising footballer, he left Dublin while still a teenager to join Manchester United as an apprentice. Dunphy did not break into the first team at United, and subsequently left to play for York City, Millwall, Charlton Athletic, Reading and Shamrock Rovers. It was at Millwall that Dunphy made the most impact; he was considered an intelligent and skilful player in the side's midfield. Dunphy was a member of "The Class of '71", the Millwall side that failed by just one point to gain promotion to the Football League First Division. He accompanied Johnny Giles back to Ireland to join Shamrock Rovers in 1977. Giles wanted to make the club Ireland's first full-time professional club, and hoped to make Rovers into a force in European football by developing talented young players at home who would otherwise go to clubs in England. Dunphy was originally intended to be in charge of youth development. However, despite an FAI Cup winners medal in 1978 (his only medal in senior football) and two appearances in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Dunphy became disillusioned with the Irish game and dropped out of football altogether to concentrate on a career in journalism. International career Dunphy played 23 times for the Republic of Ireland and was Millwall's most capped international footballer with 22 caps, until surpassed by David Forde and Shane Ferguson. He made his Ireland début on 10 November 1965 in the play-off at the Parc des Princes in Paris for the 1966 FIFA World Cup which Spain won 1–0, thanks to a José Ufarte goal. He went on to become, in his own words, "a good player, not a great player". Journalism After retiring from the game, Dunphy first began writing on football for the Sunday Tribune and then contributing regular columns on both football and current events for the Sunday Independent. He currently writes a column on football for the Irish Daily Star. He coined the term "Official Ireland" to refer to the establishment. He has also worked for Ireland on Sunday (now The Irish Mail on Sunday), The Sunday Press (now defunct), and the Irish Examiner. Since the 1980s, Dunphy has written a number of books. His first and most widely praised book is Only a Game? The Diary of a Professional Footballer, which is an autobiographical account of his days playing for Millwall. Written in diary form, it recorded events from the dressing room of his 1973–74 season, which began well for him at Millwall but subsequently ended in disillusionment: after being substituted in a 27 October 1973 home loss to eventual league winners Middlesbrough, Dunphy did not play another game all season, the club finishing mid-table. In 1985, rock band U2 and manager Paul McGuinness commissioned him to write the story of their origins, formation, early years and the time leading up to their highly successful album The Joshua Tree. His book Unforgettable Fire - Past, Present, and Future - The Definitive Biography of U2 was published in 1988. It received some favourable reviews, but critics close to the band spoke of many inaccuracies. A verbal war erupted in the press during which Dunphy called lead singer Bono a "pompous git". Dunphy has also written a biography of long-serving Manchester United manager Matt Busby and in 2002 ghost wrote the autobiography of Republic of Ireland and Manchester United player Roy Keane. Broadcasting career Television Since the mid-1980s, Dunphy has regularly appeared as an analyst during football coverage on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Since RTÉ acquired the rights to show English football, he has been a regular contributor to Premier Soccer Saturday. He also contributes to analysis of UEFA Champions League games and, in international football, RTÉ's coverage of FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Football Championships and qualifying matches involving the Republic of Ireland national football team. He contributed to RTÉ Sport's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Dunphy's earnings from RTÉ for his football analysis (plus a radio show) include €328,051 in 2008 and €285,915 in 2007. In 2001, he became the first male host of the quiz show The Weakest Link, which aired on TV3, for just one series. In 2003, he was hired again by TV3 to host their new Friday night chat show, entitled The Dunphy Show. Pitted head-to-head with RTÉ's long-running flagship programme, The Late Late Show, Dunphy's show lost what was a highly publicised "ratings war", and was cancelled before its original run was to conclude. He is the first presenter of a made-for-mobile television show on the 3 mobile network in Ireland. His rants and "Spoofer of the Week" are watched by thousands of 3 Mobile customers. The shows were awarded "Best Entertainment Show" at Ireland's Digital Media Awards. Dunphy admits he never uses a mobile himself but enjoys filming for a mobile audience from his living room in Ranelagh. In 2009, he made an emotive outburst on The Late Late Show during a discussion regarding then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's financial affairs. In July 2018, Dunphy announced that he was leaving RTÉ after 40 years with the broadcaster, and that he intended to focus on his podcast The Stand with Eamon Dunphy. Radio Dunphy has also had a prominent radio career with several stations, including Today FM, Newstalk and RTÉ Radio 1. He was the original host in 1997 of the popular current affairs show The Last Word on Today FM. In September 2004, he took over The Breakfast Show slot on the Dublin radio station Newstalk 106 from David M.... Discover the Shane Dunphy popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Shane Dunphy books.