Whatever about the lack of young footballing talent coming through the ranks, the pundit production line for Irish TV channels keeps on rolling.
On the back of Damien Duff's highly enjoyable debut season with RTÉ, local rivals TV3 have made a big signing of their own, and he certainly is big.
Richard Dunne will be an analyst for TV3's Champions League coverage of Manchester City vs PSG, as we were delighted to learn via press release today:
Former Republic of Ireland and Manchester City captain Richard Dunne is the special studio guest of TV3 for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final 2nd leg between Manchester City and Paris St Germain.
City hold a slender away goal lead from the Wednesday’s 2-2 draw in Paris.
Dunne, a four time player of the year at City, joins TV3 regulars Kevin Kilbane, Brian Kerr and host Tommy Martin for studio analysis, with Neil Lennon and David McIntyre on commentary duty at the Etihad Stadium.
TV3’s coverage begins at 7pm on Tuesday with Champions League Tonight previewing all the night’s action, with Champions League Highlights at 10pm featuring Real Madrid v Wolfsburg.
Live streaming for all coverage will be available on www.3player.ie/live
We're hoping for frank honesty, and of course some stories from his time at City, albeit a very different City to the one we know today.
Dunne will become the fifth member of Ireland's Euro 2012 squad to venture into punditry, following in the footsteps of Duff, Shay Given, Keith Andrews, and Stephen Hunt.
