“One, two, three, four, five – hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road – and all the way to Dublin, Whack fol lol le rah!” is the chorus from the traditional Irish song, “The Rocky Road To Dublin,” that you might hear at night being sung along Grafton Street or some other corner of the hometown of King University junior and futbol standout Gary Dunne. It was along the banks of the River Liffey in Clonee in the city of Dublin, Ireland, that Gary would take his first step, and around that same time he would be given his first soccer ball.
Soccer in Ireland can trace its roots back to the year 1878 when merchant from Belfast, honeymooning in Edinburgh, Scotland stumbled upon his first ever soccer match and was intrigued. Upon his return to Ireland he decided to begin a soccer (football) club and sure enough it became a hit with young Irish athletes across the country and the rest is history.
Introduced to the sport by his father, it was apparent that Gary had a natural talent for the game. He played all the time and realized his own potential around the age of twelve when the family relocated to Dunboyne in County Meath, about 14km north of Dublin City. But it wouldn’t be until the age of 16 or 17 that Gary started taking seriously the idea of playing at the next level as a college student athlete.
“I loved growing up in Dublin and the surrounding suburbs,” Gary says. There was always so much excitement and things to do. But my ambition was to come to America on a scholarship,” Gary explains. He knew that leaving Ireland to play soccer would be difficult, but he felt it was something he had to do. Right out of high school he enrolled in a PLC program which is a year-long college course in Ireland that has a history of sending kids over to the United States to study and play sports.
Gary initially enrolled at East Central College in Union, Missouri. When he arrived in the United States he happened to travel to Memphis where he met with another East Central College soccer player from England and the two became friends. This new friend was a sophomore and introduced Gary to the East Central College culture and scene. “He introduced me to everyone and made me feel very welcome,” Gary says. “The transition from Ireland to the States wasn’t all that difficult for me because of that.”
Gary had learned about King University and their soccer program on his own. He was doing research one day on school from the Conference Carolinas, analyzing the schedules of the different teams when he started reading up on King. He liked what he saw and felt it was a place that he would be able to thrive and succeed. He reached out to the coaching staff at King and set up an initial phone interview. Gary would accept an offer to play for King and once again it was time to relocate, this time to East Tennessee. He said he took to the campus and the coaches right from the start and says of head coach Richard Rose, “I liked his mannerisms, how confident he was about the program, and his knowledge of the game, and everything he told me about campus.”
For Gary, King was the perfect fit. His focus is set on becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy while possibly participating in coaching activities, and with his discipline, dedication, and intellect, the future is his to carve out.
He says that going to King has been a wonderful experience, and with the close-knit community and friendly atmosphere, students never feel like outsiders no matter where you come from. Everyone is so supportive and will help you out if you need it, from the faculty and staff to the coaches and peers. It is a great place to grow and develop.