Damien Byrne
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Damien Byrne | ||
| Date of birth | 6 April 1954 | ||
| Place of birth | County Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward / Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Home Farm | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1974 | Home Farm | 22 | (4) |
| 1974 | Dundalk | 4 | (2) |
| 1974–1983 | Drogheda United | 214 | (47) |
| 1983–1985 | Crusaders | 52 | (6) |
| 1985–1987 | Ards | 47 | (0) |
| 1987 | Shamrock Rovers | 3 | (0) |
| 1987–1993 | St Patrick's Athletic | 109 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 1982 | League of Ireland XI | ? | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Damien Byrne (born 6 April 1954 in Dublin) is a former Irish professional football 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 but midway through his career switched to Centre back.
His son Phil Byrne currently plays for Carrick Rangers in the IFA Premiership.
Byrne played schoolboy football for Home Farm and made his League of Ireland debut on 12 October 1973 for that club against St Patrick's Athletic. He stayed only one season with Home Farm and in the summer of 1974 he signed for Dundalk, however by the end of November he had moved on to their County Louth rivals Drogheda United. 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 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 club Crusaders 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. 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.
...
Wikipedia