Ned Byrne
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Éamonn Ó Broin | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Born |
14 September 1948 Kilkenny, Ireland |
||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| James Stephens | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Kilkenny titles | 2 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
| 1971-1972 | Kilkenny | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 2 | ||
| All-Irelands | 1 | ||
Edward Michael Joseph "Ned" 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.
Ned Byrne was born in Kilkenny in 1948. 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.
Byrne played his club hurling 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.
Byrne first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the unsuccessful Kilkenny 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.
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