FORMER Galway United manager Tommy Dunne was in the thoughts of all associated with the club this past week after news emerged of the passing of his father, Theo, a regular at Eamonn Deacy Park during his son’s time as manager at the club.

The younger Dunne led United to promotion back in 2014, and then brought them to a 10th place finish in the 12-team Premier Division in 2015, but then, despite improving to having the side sitting in eighth with five games remaining of the following season, the board lost patience with a run of six defeats in eight games, and Dunne was given the boot.

Some would say that it was their nerve, rather than their patience, that the board actually lost in September 2016: United picked up just four points in their final five games without Dunne to drop to ninth, and were then relegated the following season when finishing four points off safety.

They have been in the bottom tier ever since, and this Friday will see the club begin a sixth-consecutive season in the First Division, United’s worst-ever run, when takeing on Finn Harps in Ballybofey (8pm) in their opening game of the season.

It will mark the fourth attempt by John Caulfield to finally lead United back to the top-flight. Caulfield sits just one place behind Dunne as United’s fifth-longest serving manager: Friday’s game will be his 80th in charge of the club.

He also has the best winning percentage of any permanent United manager in the club’s history with a win rate of 51.9%, but that comes with an asterisk in that he is one of just three people to have solely managed the club in the First Division, after Stephen Lally (January 2005 to May 2006) and Alan Murphy (July 2018 to August 2020).

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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