Damien Byrne (born 6 April 1954 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

) is an Irish former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. In a career spanning 20 seasons, Byrne won player of the year awards in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the only man to do so. He started his career as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

but midway through his career switched to

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. His son Phil Byrne currently plays for

Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as ...

in the

IFA Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

Career

Byrne played schoolboy football for Home Farm and made his

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

debut on 12 October 1973 for that club against

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

. He stayed only one season with Home Farm and in the summer of 1974 he signed for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, however by the end of November he had moved on to their

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

rivals

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

. During his time at Drogheda Byrne would win League of Ireland representative honours. The closest he came to winning a trophy was playing on the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

final losing Drogheda side of 1976. When he left Drogheda in 1983 he was their all-time leading goal scorer with 47. Byrne signed for

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

club

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in 1983. He spent two years at Seaview and won their Player of the Year award in his second season. He then joined Ards F.C. of

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

. Such were his performances in his second season with the North Down club, and following a notable 3rd-place finish in the league, Byrne was voted the Irish League Player of the Year in 1986/87. Byrne joined

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

in the summer of 1987 but despite making one appearance in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

in October of that year was persuaded by Brian Kerr to join his new look

side. Kerr had signed several young players and felt he needed an experienced defender to lead the team. St Pats needed to beat Dundalk in the last game of the season to win the league but drew and had to be content with runners up medals. In 1990 Byrne went one better as he became the first St Patrick's Athletic captain in 34 years to lift the League of Ireland trophy. He was voted the Personality of the Year by the Soccer Writer of Ireland to complete his north–south double. Byrne missed the majority of the following season as a knee injury threatened his career. He came back in 1991/92 but mainly played back up as St Pats young defenders took over. He retired from playing in 1993 to take as assistant manager role at

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. He stayed with Bohs less than a season and began managing local junior side Lusk United.

Honours

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

: **

- 1989-90 * Leinster Senior Cup: **

St Patrick's Athletic F.C. St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

- 1990 * SWAI Personality of the Year **

- 1989/90 *

Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Player of the Year The Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Player of the Year (often called the NIFWA Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in the IFA Premiership. It is one of two ass ...

: ** Ards F.C. - 1986/87

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Damien St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players League of Ireland players League of Ireland XI players Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football defenders Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Home Farm F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Crusaders F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players Ards F.C. players NIFL Premiership players 1954 births Living people Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association Players of the Year