Mr Dunne, who lived in New York, is said to have died peacefully last Friday.
He was 50 years old.
His death comes less than two years after the passing of his father Ben Dunne, who died while on holiday in Dubai.
Robert, who was an attorney, is survived by his mother Mary, his sister Caroline and his brothers Mark and Nicholas.
His will repose at Cunningham’s Funeral Home, Church Avenue, Blanchardstown on Sunday and from there he will be brought to St. Mochta’s Church, Portersotwn, Clonsilla, on Monday morning.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent in 2024, Robert said it was the first-hand experience of the aftermath of his father’s 1992 arrest in Florida that influenced his decision to pursue a career in law. His father’s solicitor, Noel Smyth, had told him: “If you put any stock in my opinion [which he did], if you pursue law you don’t have to be a lawyer, but it will give you so many other options.”
After law school, he was sponsored to work at the Washington-based National Centre for Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA), one of the agencies used to prepare a “mitigation report” for his father in the event of him being faced with a prison sentence.
Rob Dunne, son of late businessman Ben Dunne, pictured in the Castleknock Hotel in 2023. Picture by Gerry Mooney
Robert Dunne on his father Ben’s life and legacy
“I ended up working for NCIA for about a year or so – brilliant experience at a centre specialising in post-criminal conviction advocacy work,” he said. But it was contacts that helped him get established after he passed the New York Bar.
In 2011, he started a solo law practice in Manhattan. He also produced a podcast, called Evermind, exploring the crossover between mental health and music.
Speaking about his father at the time, Robert said he had no recriminations about what had happened in his father’s life over the years.
Rather, he said: “I would just want to tell him that we couldn’t have had a better father. Yes, you made lots of mistakes, but you owned all of them. Please know that I am nothing but proud of you and I am blessed and lucky to be able to have you.”