- Shane Byrne
"For the motorcycle racer, see
Shane Byrne (motorcycle racer) "James Shane Byrne (born Sunday
18 July 1971 ) is an Irishrugby union footballer. Byrne is one of few players from the amateur era still involved at international level. Aged: 36 (as of July 18th) He is nicknamed 'Munch' or 'Mullet' (a reference to his hair style).A native of
Aughrim ,County Wicklow , Byrne playedGaelic football up to under-16 level with the local Aughrim club. [http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=97268 Hoganstand.com - GAA Football & Hurling ] ] He attendedBlackrock College inDublin , the alma mater of many Irish greats.Despite playing as a professional rugby player for over 10 years, Shane has always kept working on the side and is a director with Arklow Waste Disposal, his family business. He is also head of operations for Focus International Property.
Shane is married to Caroline (a native of Co. Monaghan) and has twin girls Alex and Kerry.
He plied his trade for many years at Leinster. His international career started comparatively late and did not blossom until the retirement of
Keith Wood . When eventually given his chance in a World Cup qualifier in Romania he took it and became a fixture in the national side.In 2005 he was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand and played in the first and third tests. Shane has a total of three tries for his county, scoring twice in one match during wales in the 2004 six nations. Following the Lions tour his contract talks with Leinster were inconclusive and he joined Saracens in the summer of 2005 for two years, before returning to Ireland.
Byrne participated in a
Charity You're A Star edition on RTÉ in the Helix, DCU. His chosen charity was GOAL, an Irish founded charity group.In June 2008, Byrne revived his
GAA career with the local Aughrim club after a 17-year lapse, lining out at centre-back in a Wicklow junior ’C’ league game against Coolkenno. His switch to the full-forward position did not stop Aughrim from crashing to a heavy defeat.References
External links
* [http://www.irishrugby.ie/227_7678.php?player=3729&includeref=dynamic Ireland profile]
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