Bernard Dunne - Irish Boxer

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Bernard is a retired Professional Boxer. He is a former WBA Super Bantamweight World Champion and also a former European Super Bantamweight Champion. From Neilstown in Dublin, his love for boxing came from his family, and he started participating in the sport at the age of five. Bernard never lost to an Irish fighter in his amateur career, but this wasn't enough for him, so he decided to go professional, which meant moving to California. While his career flourished across the Atlantic, he missed home and his family. He wanted to win a World Title in his home country, and his journey, courage, and dignity made him an Irish national treasure.

Former world champion and notable sports personality

Since announcing his retirement in 2010, Bernard has completed a Master's Degree in Sports, Exercise and Performance Psychology at the University of Limerick. He has been a regular face on our TV screens as a popular panelist on RTÉ Sport, covering everything from Boxing, Soccer, and GAA to Current Affairs and the Olympics. He also worked with RTÉ on their show Ultimate Street Challenge, a six-part television series where ten 16-year-olds from all over Ireland battled it out in a number of physical challenges on the streets of Dublin to become the Ultimate Street Challenge Champion. In 2016, Bernard presented IFTA Winning Bernard Dunne's Mythical Heroes on RTÉ. Bernard took on the role of the storyteller, sharing the tales of Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Tir na nOg, the Children of Lir, the Tuatha de Danann, Balor, the Formorians, Chu Culainn that have been passed down through generations. Season two returned to our screens in December 2018, where Bernard introduced some of the great Irish Mythical Heroes that inspired him as a youth.

Experienced sports expert

Bernard is currently the High Performance Director for Irish Boxing with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association. He works alongside the high-performance coaching team led by Zaur Anita, aiming to ensure that Ireland is among the top three countries in terms of the number of boxers competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with the ultimate goal of becoming the best boxing nation in the world. He also completed a Master's Degree in Sports, Exercise and Performance Psychology from the University of Limerick. Bernard has become an advocate for the Irish language and set up Bród Club in 2012, an ambitious nationwide campaign aimed at inspiring 100,000 people to re-engage with the Irish language. Bernard Dunne’s Bród Club series on RTÉ was a motivational, inspirational series that sought to speak to the "Gael" in all of us. It aimed to rekindle a sense of pride in the language and transform that pride into something tangible, inspiring us to use whatever Irish we have, however much or little that might be. Bernard served as an Ambassador for Seachtain na Gaeilge in 2010.

Bernard wrote his autobiography, Bernard Dunne My Story, in 2010, which was published by Penguin Ireland. 

Bernard joined the Dublin Senior Football Team as the Sports Performance and Lifestyle coach in 2013. As part of his role, he worked with each squad member individually and in groups, focusing on a mix of sports psychology and life coaching, addressing the players’ attitudes, beliefs, and values in their sport. His performance coaching helped the players get into the right mindset to achieve their best results in training and on game days. Under Bernard's guidance, the Dublin Senior Football Team won the All Ireland Senior Football Championships in 2013 and 2015.

Motivational speaker available internationally

Bernard also travels the country talking to young people (ages 10-13) about life, believing in themselves, and not being afraid to fail or take on a challenge. He believes that young people need encouragement to be the best they can be and that they shouldn't fear being different. A key part of his message is that being different is what makes them unique. Young people, especially from certain parts of society, are often labeled as being no good just because of where they were born or their background. Bernard tells these young individuals that if they want something and work hard enough for it, making the necessary choices to succeed, they can become whatever they dream of being. As a young man growing up in Neilstown, he dreamed of becoming a World Champion, and he achieved it through hard work, dedication, and making the right choices. Bernard dedicates a huge amount of his free time and is involved with many charities, including Pieta House, Make A Wish, and CASA, to name a few.