Anthony Brendan Byrne (2 February 1946 – 13 June 2016) was an Irish professional footballer. He won a total of 14 caps for the Republic of Ireland and during his career from 1963 to 1978 played for Millwall, Southampton, Hereford United and Newport County. He was originally a midfield player who switched to left-back and he had a career total of 229 league games scoring 4 goals.
He was born in Rathdowney, County Laois, Ireland, on 2 February 1946. His early sporting background was in hurling before he emigrated to London with his parents at the age of 12.[2]
Playing careeredit
He began his career as a footballer at Millwall, where he was originally a midfield player before switching to left-back.[2] After only one appearance for Millwall, he was signed by Ted Bates for Southampton for a fee of £8,000 in August 1964. Although he made his Saints debut in an FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace in January 1965, Byrne took a long time to break into the Southampton first team, mainly because of a broken leg sustained in a reserve team match in April 1966. He eventually overcame this setback to make his league debut on 18 April 1967 in front of a 54,921 crowd at Old Trafford as relegation-threatened Saints went down 3–0 to Manchester United. He was slightly built for a defender and "although quick and diligent, he struggled to carve a permanent niche in Southampton's notoriously robust rearguard".[1]
His best season with The Saints was 1969–70, in which he made 35 league appearances, playing in defence alongside Joe Kirkup and John McGrath, as Saints again fought to avoid relegation. He scored his first league goal in the final match of the season in a 1–1 draw against Derby County. Having given away Derby's 88th-minute goal after a poor back-pass, Byrne quickly turned from villain to hero as he slotted in a bobbling ball in the 90th minute in a dramatic climax to the season.[3]
He stayed at The Dell for ten years during which time he made a total of 114 first team appearances and won 14 Irish caps.
Amazingly his Irish international debut in October 1969 in Dublin against Denmark was the first time he had kicked a ball in his native land because he had emigrated to London with his parents at the age of 12 and, until then, had played only hurling.
Later lifeedit
After retiring from football, he worked as a foreman at Hereford golf course before working as a builder for EC Joseph & Sons LTD in Hereford.
In the 1980s Byrne purchased the derelict Tivoli Cinema in The Liberties in Dublin and refurnished it, converting it into a theatre and music venue/nightclub.[4]
^ abHolley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 58. ISBN0-9514862-3-3.
^ ab. Southampton FC. 14 June 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
^Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 106. ISBN0-9534474-3-X.
^McCormack, Chris (1 December 2021). "City of phantoms: How did Dublin enter cultural collapse?". Retrieved 24 March 2024.
^"Tony Byrne: Former Southampton, Hereford United and Ireland full-back dies at 70". BBC Sport. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
External linksedit
Republic of Ireland profile
January 01, 1970
tony, byrne, footballer, born, 1946, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, tony, byrne, footballer, born, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tony Byrne footballer born 1946 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Anthony Brendan Byrne 2 February 1946 13 June 2016 was an Irish professional footballer He won a total of 14 caps for the Republic of Ireland and during his career from 1963 to 1978 played for Millwall Southampton Hereford United and Newport County He was originally a midfield player who switched to left back and he had a career total of 229 league games scoring 4 goals Tony ByrneByrne in 1973Personal informationFull nameAnthony Brendan ByrneDate of birth 1946 02 02 2 February 1946Place of birthRathdowney IrelandDate of death13 June 2016 2016 06 13 aged 70 Height5 ft 7 in 1 70 m 1 Position s Left backSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1963 1964Millwall1 0 1964 1974Southampton93 3 1974 1977Hereford United55 0 1977 1979Newport County80 1 Trowbridge TownInternational career1969 1973Republic of Ireland14 0 Club domestic league appearances and goals Contents 1 Early life 2 Playing career 3 Later life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editHe was born in Rathdowney County Laois Ireland on 2 February 1946 His early sporting background was in hurling before he emigrated to London with his parents at the age of 12 2 Playing career editHe began his career as a footballer at Millwall where he was originally a midfield player before switching to left back 2 After only one appearance for Millwall he was signed by Ted Bates for Southampton for a fee of 8 000 in August 1964 Although he made his Saints debut in an FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace in January 1965 Byrne took a long time to break into the Southampton first team mainly because of a broken leg sustained in a reserve team match in April 1966 He eventually overcame this setback to make his league debut on 18 April 1967 in front of a 54 921 crowd at Old Trafford as relegation threatened Saints went down 3 0 to Manchester United He was slightly built for a defender and although quick and diligent he struggled to carve a permanent niche in Southampton s notoriously robust rearguard 1 His best season with The Saints was 1969 70 in which he made 35 league appearances playing in defence alongside Joe Kirkup and John McGrath as Saints again fought to avoid relegation He scored his first league goal in the final match of the season in a 1 1 draw against Derby County Having given away Derby s 88th minute goal after a poor back pass Byrne quickly turned from villain to hero as he slotted in a bobbling ball in the 90th minute in a dramatic climax to the season 3 He stayed at The Dell for ten years during which time he made a total of 114 first team appearances and won 14 Irish caps In August 1974 he moved to Hereford United to join former Saints colleague Terry Paine for three seasons before finishing his career with Newport County Amazingly his Irish international debut in October 1969 in Dublin against Denmark was the first time he had kicked a ball in his native land because he had emigrated to London with his parents at the age of 12 and until then had played only hurling Later life editAfter retiring from football he worked as a foreman at Hereford golf course before working as a builder for EC Joseph amp Sons LTD in Hereford In the 1980s Byrne purchased the derelict Tivoli Cinema in The Liberties in Dublin and refurnished it converting it into a theatre and music venue nightclub 4 He died on 13 June 2016 aged 70 5 References edit a b Holley Duncan Chalk Gary 1992 The Alphabet of the Saints ACL amp Polar Publishing p 58 ISBN 0 9514862 3 3 a b An appreciation Tony Byrne Southampton FC 14 June 2016 Archived from the original on 8 August 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Holley Duncan Chalk Gary 2003 In That Number A post war chronicle of Southampton FC Hagiology Publishing p 106 ISBN 0 9534474 3 X McCormack Chris 1 December 2021 City of phantoms How did Dublin enter cultural collapse Retrieved 24 March 2024 Tony Byrne Former Southampton Hereford United and Ireland full back dies at 70 BBC Sport 14 June 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 External links editRepublic of Ireland profile Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tony Byrne footballer born 1946 amp oldid 1220335180, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
