Name: Charles Dunne
Date of Birth: 13th February 1993
Place of Birth: Lambeth, England
Nationality: Irish
Position: Centre Back
Height: 6ft 2in
Weight: 13.7st
Signed: 2nd June 2021 from Motherwell (Freedom of Contract)
Departed: 24th May 2024 (Freedom of Contract)
Debut: 13th July 2021 v Dunfermline (1-0)
Final Match: 18th May 2024 v Celtic (2-3)
Apps: 91
Goals: 1
Honours: None
Dunne arrived in Paisley in the summer of 2021 after 4 injury blighted seasons at Motherwell where he had initially built a good reputation as a speedy and reliable centre back, before fitness issues meant he made only three appearances in his final two seasons at Fir Park.
Perhaps looked upon as a gamble due to these issues, Dunne had no real long term injury problems at Paisley apart from a hamstring injury during his first season, and played fairly consistently on the left side of Saints three centre backs, firstly under Jim Goodwin and then for the initial period under old mentor Stephen Robinson. At the outset, Dunne’s form was so good that Goodwin tipped him to join Jamie McGrath for an Ireland call up, but national manager Stephen Kenny thought otherwise and the London born defender remained uncapped during his time at Paisley.
During his second season at Paisley, with uncertainty over his future as Dunne stalled on a contract extension, the defender struggled for consistency post Christmas and eventually lost his place in the starting XI to new signing Richard Taylor, as the conclusion to the tense battle for European football drew to a close in the spring of 2023.
In the latter stages of the final match of the season against Rangers on the 27th May 2023, Dunne was brought on for Taylor, which looked to be Dunne’s 65th and final appearance for St Mirren. A few days later, on the 30th May, the club announced Dunne was leaving at the end of his contract to seek employment elsewhere after 2 relatively successful seasons in Paisley, however both parties made a surprising U-turn a fortnight later and the defender signed on for another season.
2023/24 would prove to be a difficult one for Dunne as he struggled to get much time on the pitch, in fact he managed only 740 minutes in the Premiership over 21 appearances, mainly as a substitute, the equivalent of 9 full matches. Dunne did manage his only goal for Saints however during this season, the opener at Rugby Park on a day to forget for everyone involved with Saints.
On the 23rd May 2024 it was announced Dunne would not be offered a new contract at Saints, and after 91 appearances for Saints, left the club.
| SQUAD NO | SEASON | DIVISION | LGE | GLS | LCP | GLS | SCP | GLS | TOTAL APP | TOTAL GLS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 2021/22 | PRM | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 18 | 2022/23 | PRM | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| 18 | 2023/24 | PRM | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 76 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 91 | 1 |
