Cathal Dunne | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cathal Dunne |
| Born | 14 February 1951 (1951-02-14) (age 74) Cork,Ireland |
| Genres | Pop,pop-rock,MOR,Trad. Irish |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Labels | 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 the1979 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Happy Man".[1] He has since gained a following asCahal Dunne, performing traditional Irish songs in theUnited States, where he now lives.
Born inCork, Ireland, Dunne is the nephew ofJack Lynch who served asTaoiseach in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974 he graduated fromUniversity College Cork andMontfort College of Performing Arts after studying music. That same year he won theCastlebar Song Contest with the song "Shalom". Two years later he represented Ireland at theYamaha 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 forFianna Fáil's 1981 general election campaign.[5]
In 1979 he entered his own composition "Happy Man" into the Irish National Song Contest. Competing against former Irish Eurovision entrantsTina Reynolds andRed Hurley and future winnerJohnny Logan, he won the contest easily with 36 points and thus gained the right to represent Ireland at that year'sEurovision Song Contest.[6] Performing inJerusalem 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 byNicky Graham.
In February 1982 he played some concerts inMichigan 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]
Dunne now lives inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania with his wife, Kathleen and son, Ryan.[10]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 | Succeeded by |