Pat Byrne (footballer)
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 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick Joseph Byrne[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 15 May 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1974 | Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1978 | Bohemians | 98 | (20) |
| 1978 | Philadelphia Fury | 19 | (3) |
| 1978–1979 | Shelbourne | ? | (0) |
| 1979–1981 | Leicester City | 36 | (3) |
| 1981–1983 | Heart of Midlothian | 65 | (11) |
| 1983–1988 | Shamrock Rovers | 126 | (16) |
| 1988–1993 | Shelbourne | ? | (?) |
| 1993–1994 | Cobh Ramblers | 4 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | St James's Gate | 0 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Shelbourne | 1 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1974–1987 | League of Ireland XI | ? | (1) |
| 1984–1986 | Republic of Ireland | 8 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1988–1993 | Shelbourne | ||
| 1995–1996 | St James's Gate | ||
| 1996–1997 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 1999–2000 | Kilikenny City | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Patrick Joseph Byrne (born 15 May 1956, in Dublin) is an Irish former football player and manager.
Club
A central midfielder, Byrne's playing career started with Bohemians, his debut coming against St Patrick's Athletic on 25 August 1974 in a LFA President's Cup Final. He made 162 appearances in all competitions for Bohemians (98 in the league, 10 in European competition)[2] and won 2 League of Ireland titles and 1 FAI Cup before he moved to the US in 1978, for a year with the Philadelphia Fury of the North American Soccer League. At the Fury he played alongside fellow Irishmen Fran O'Brien and Eddie Byrne, appearing in eighteen matches plus one play-off game and scoring three goals.[3] Byrne's teammates also included Alan Ball, Peter Osgood and Johnny Giles, while he played against the likes of Rodney Marsh, Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia and Bobby Moore.
He returned to Europe in 1979, playing for Leicester City in England until 1981, then Heart of Midlothian in Scotland until 1983.[4] While playing for Hearts he was based in Dublin, and would regularly commute to Scotland for weekend fixtures. When this became too much of a burden, he was granted a free transfer and joined League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers, where he won four league titles in a row and the FAI Cup three times between 1984 and 1987. He was the club's Player of the Year in 1984–85 and also picked up the SWAI Personality of the Year award for that season. He made seven appearances for Rovers in European competition.
International
In April 1983, Byrne played for the League of Ireland XI U21s against their Italian League counterparts who included Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli in their team.The Irish Times. Dublin. 1 December 1983. ISSN 0791-5144 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1983/1201/Pg003.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) During this time with Shamrock Rovers he also won eight full international caps for the Republic of Ireland, three inter-league caps, scoring once, and played in two 1988 Summer Olympics qualifiers.