International Career
Dunne played for the Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team in the 1997 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship finals in Iceland. Dunne made his debut for the Republic of Ireland on 26 April 2000 in a 1–0 loss against Greece in a friendly match. His first international goal came just two months later in only his third cap as he scored on 4 June against Mexico, helping his team come from 2–0 down to drawing 2–2. He was selected by Mick McCarthy to play against the likes of Holland and Portugal during their successful qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. His first competitive goal for Ireland came against Estonia in a 2–0 win.
Dunne was part of the Irish squad that played at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but the centre-half pairing of Gary Breen and Steve Staunton (the latter of whom became team captain following the departure of Roy Keane) was favoured by Mick McCarthy, meaning Dunne did not even make an appearance as a substitute. 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. He did score his fourth international goal in a friendly against Turkey just prior to the end of the campaign. Dunne again found himself out of favour with Kerr during the qualification campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, only featuring in the final three matches which included a 1–0 defeat to France, a game that ultimately cost Ireland qualification. Another change of manager for Ireland saw Dunne's former teammate, Steve Staunton, use him during the majority of the Euro 2008 qualification campaign. 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, ensured qualification was always beyond the Irish. Dunne only missed three of the twelve matches, due to suspension and injury rather than form.
Giovanni Trappatoni was appointed Ireland manager for the qualification campaign ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and with it is has cemented Richard Dunne as Ireland's top defender and one of the best players. He played in all ten games helping Ireland finish second and qualify for a play-off whilst also scoring goals in both 1–1 draws with Bulgaria, as well as winning the man of the match award in the away game held in Sofia. He also played the entire matches in both legs against France as Ireland were controversially knocked out 2–1 on aggregate after extra-time. Dunne was famously pictured sitting distraught on the pitch in Paris as Thierry Henry, the very person who had seconds earlier cheated Ireland out of their place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, consoled him.
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 qualifier against Macedonia in a 2–1 victory at the Aviva Stadium. On Wednesday 10 August 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes alongside Sean St. Ledger in the goalless draw against Croatia at the Aviva Stadium.
On Tuesday 6 September 2011, Dunne started and played the full 90 minutes in the goalless draw against Russia in Moscow. Dunne gave perhaps the best performance of his career to date, winning the man of the match award as he almost single-handedly stopped a Russian team which totally dominated midfield and created wave after wave of attacks. Former Villa centre half Paul McGrath described Dunne's heroics as the best performance from an Irish centre half he had ever witnessed, including his own legendary performance against Italy in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
On Tuesday 11 October 2011, Dunne started and played the full 90 minutes alongside Sean St. Ledger in a 2–1 victory for Ireland over Armenia at the Aviva Stadium which gained them a play-off spot for UEFA Euro 2012, scoring in the 60th minute his eighth goal on his 69th international appearance for his country. After the team qualified for UEFA Euro 2012 with an unprecedented 5–1 aggregate play-off win over their opponents, Dunne described it as "the best experience I've probably had in football".
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