Ned Byrne
Encyclopedia
Edward "Ned" Michael Joseph Byrne (born 14 September 1948) is a former Irish
sportsperson. He played hurling
with his local club James Stephens
and the Kilkenny
senior inter-county team in the 1970s, and between 1977 and 1978 represented Ireland
at rugby union
.
in 1947. He was educated locally at Kilkenny CBS
where he first became interested in the game of hurling
. Byrne later attended the Cistercian College in Roscrea
where he continued hurling but also started playing rugby union
. This was at a time when Gaelic Athletic Association
members were not allowed to play non-Gaelic games
and Byrne was duly banned from being a member of the college hurling team in fifth year. In his final year at school Byrne left the college rugby team and played hurling instead.
and football
with his local St. Canice's club. He won county minor titles in both codes in 1964, however, the club disbanded shortly after and Byrne joined the famous James Stephens
club. Here he won a senior county title in 1969. Byrne captured a second county medal in 1975, however, he later left the team to concentrate on his rugby career. In doing this he missed out on the greatest day in James Stephens’ history as the club defeated the mighty Blackrock
in the All-Ireland club final in 1976. In the early 1990s Byrne returned to James Stephens as trainer of the club’s senior hurling team.
minor hurling team in 1964. He later joined the senior team, however, it would be 1971 before he became a regular on the team, making his debut in the National Hurling League
. That year Byrne won a Leinster
title, however, Kilkenny were later beaten by Tipperary
in a thrilling All-Ireland final. The following year he captured a second Leinster medal before later lining out in his second All-Ireland final. Arch-rivals Cork provided the opposition and, for a while, it looked as if the Leesiders were cruising to victory. Kilkenny fought back to win the game and Byrne collected a coveted All-Ireland
medal.
since his secondary school days. He later played with the Kilkenny and Wanderers in the 1960s. Immediately following the 1972 All-Ireland hurling final victory Byrne joined Blackrock College
and he soon started to make the Leinster
team for representative matches. His talent was quickly noted and he later made his debut for Ireland
in a 1977 Five Nations Championship
game against Scotland
. Byrne won five more caps in the front row but never finished on a winning team. In 1979 he was the first-choice tight-head prop in the Ireland team that went on a tour to Australia
. That tour remains famous for Ollie Campbell
taking over Tony Ward
’s out-half spot, however, for Byrne it was memorable for quite a different reason. A group of players were coming back from a race meeting one night when, standing on a path waiting to cross the road, he was hit by a car which didn’t stop. His leg was broken in three places and he wasn’t able to play rugby again until early 1982. Byrne, however, recovered sufficiently to help Blackrock win the Leinster Senior Cup
and Leinster Senior League in 1983.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
sportsperson. He played hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
with his local club James Stephens
James Stephens (GAA Club)
James Stephens is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Kilkenny, Ireland. The club was founded in 1887 and has enjoyed equal success in both hurling and Gaelic football.-History:...
and the Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
senior inter-county team in the 1970s, and between 1977 and 1978 represented Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
at rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
.
Early life
Ned Byrne was born in KilkennyKilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
in 1947. He was educated locally at Kilkenny CBS
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
where he first became interested in the game of hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
. Byrne later attended the Cistercian College in Roscrea
Roscrea
Roscrea is a small heritage town in North Tipperary, Ireland. The town has a population of 4,910. Its main industries include meat processing and pharmaceuticals. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ikerrin...
where he continued hurling but also started playing rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. This was at a time when Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
members were not allowed to play non-Gaelic games
Gaelic games
Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...
and Byrne was duly banned from being a member of the college hurling team in fifth year. In his final year at school Byrne left the college rugby team and played hurling instead.
Club
Byrne played his club hurlingHurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
and football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
with his local St. Canice's club. He won county minor titles in both codes in 1964, however, the club disbanded shortly after and Byrne joined the famous James Stephens
James Stephens (GAA Club)
James Stephens is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Kilkenny, Ireland. The club was founded in 1887 and has enjoyed equal success in both hurling and Gaelic football.-History:...
club. Here he won a senior county title in 1969. Byrne captured a second county medal in 1975, however, he later left the team to concentrate on his rugby career. In doing this he missed out on the greatest day in James Stephens’ history as the club defeated the mighty Blackrock
Blackrock GAA
Blackrock National Hurling Club is a G.A.A. club located on the southside of Cork City, Ireland. The club was founded in 1883 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling.-History:...
in the All-Ireland club final in 1976. In the early 1990s Byrne returned to James Stephens as trainer of the club’s senior hurling team.
Inter-county
Byrne first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the unsuccessful KilkennyKilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
minor hurling team in 1964. He later joined the senior team, however, it would be 1971 before he became a regular on the team, making his debut in the National Hurling League
National Hurling League
The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...
. That year Byrne won a Leinster
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
The Leinster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Leinster in Ireland....
title, however, Kilkenny were later beaten by Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
in a thrilling All-Ireland final. The following year he captured a second Leinster medal before later lining out in his second All-Ireland final. Arch-rivals Cork provided the opposition and, for a while, it looked as if the Leesiders were cruising to victory. Kilkenny fought back to win the game and Byrne collected a coveted All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
medal.
Rugby career
Byrne had played rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
since his secondary school days. He later played with the Kilkenny and Wanderers in the 1960s. Immediately following the 1972 All-Ireland hurling final victory Byrne joined Blackrock College
Blackrock College RFC
Blackrock College Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club located in Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland. The club was founded in 1882 by former pupils of Blackrock College...
and he soon started to make the Leinster
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
team for representative matches. His talent was quickly noted and he later made his debut for Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
in a 1977 Five Nations Championship
1977 Five Nations Championship
The 1977 Five Nations Championship was the forty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eighty-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played...
game against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
. Byrne won five more caps in the front row but never finished on a winning team. In 1979 he was the first-choice tight-head prop in the Ireland team that went on a tour to Australia
1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia
The 1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia was a series of eight matches played by the Ireland national rugby union team in Australia in May and June 1979....
. That tour remains famous for Ollie Campbell
Ollie Campbell
Seamus Oliver Campbell was an Irish rugby union player from 1976 to 1984. He was educated at Belvedere College, a famous Irish rugby school, where he was on the teams that won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup twice in a row in 1971 and 1972...
taking over Tony Ward
Tony Ward (rugby player)
Anthony Joseph Patrick Ward , commonly referred to as Tony Ward, was an Irish rugby union and soccer player during the 1970s and 1980s. He played rugby as a fly-half for, among others, Munster, Leinster, , the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians...
’s out-half spot, however, for Byrne it was memorable for quite a different reason. A group of players were coming back from a race meeting one night when, standing on a path waiting to cross the road, he was hit by a car which didn’t stop. His leg was broken in three places and he wasn’t able to play rugby again until early 1982. Byrne, however, recovered sufficiently to help Blackrock win the Leinster Senior Cup
Leinster Club Senior Cup
The Leinster Senior Cup is a major rugby competition in Ireland.The Leinster Senior Cup has been competed for by the strongest clubs in the province of Leinster since 1882...
and Leinster Senior League in 1983.