Hugh Byrne (born 3 September 1943) is an Irish former

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician. He was a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

constituency for a total of 18 years, and a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for three years. Born in Gusserane,

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, Byrne was a teacher at Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge for three years before returning to Wexford. He played

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

for the Wexford county team and

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

for the Kildare county team, as well as winning a Kildare senior football medal with

Moorefield GAA Moorefield is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the parish of Newbridge County Kildare, Ireland, winner of two Leinster Club Senior Football Championships, ten Senior County Football Championships and three Senior County Hurling Champions ...

. A member of

Wexford County Council Wexford County Council () is the local authority of County Wexford, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning an ...

since 1974, Byrne was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

at the 1981 general election for the Wexford constituency. He was a member of the "

Gang of 22 The Gang of 22 was a group of Fianna Fáil TDs (members of parliament) who were opposed to the leadership of Charles Haughey in the early 1980s. The very evident division within the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party left a deep split in the orga ...

", a group of 22 Fianna Fáil TDs who opposed the leadership of

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

; he reported in a 2025 interview that he had received a death threat by telephone for his opposition to Haughey. He lost his seat at the 1989 general election but was

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

to the

19th Seanad The 19th Seanad was in office from 1989 to 1993. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1989 general election to the 26th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 20th Sea ...

. He regained his Dáil seat at the subsequent 1992 election and retained it until again losing it at the 2002 general election to party colleague

Tony Dempsey Tony Dempsey may refer to: * Tony Dempsey (politician) Tony Dempsey (born 11 May 1944) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency from 2002 to 2007. Dempsey is a native of Davidstown, C ...

. From 1997 to 2002 Byrne was a Minister of State for Marine and Natural Resources. Byrne's daughter, Aoife, contested the 2016 general election in Wexford but was not elected. Byrne continues to be involved in Fianna Fáil politics in Wexford, and was part of their local election campaigns in 2024. In 2023, Byrne survived a stroke.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Hugh 1943 births Living people Dual players Members of Wexford County Council Fianna Fáil TDs 20th-century Irish farmers Irish sportsperson-politicians Kildare inter-county hurlers Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Ministers of State of the 28th Dáil Wexford inter-county Gaelic footballers Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators 20th-century Irish sportsmen