In 1954 Dessie Byrne had the misfortune to head a ball a bit too firmly back to goalkeeper Jimmy Collins, his St. Pat’s teammate and brother-in-law, the resulting own-goal was enough to secure the cup for Drumcondra and create the beginnings of the lore around St. Patrick’s Athletic’s cup-curse. The hoodoo around the supposed curse was only dispelled in 2014 when Pats next lifted the trophy, although by then it had included another member of the Byrne family, Dessie’s son Seán, a versatile, tireless and hard-working midfielder or defender who also had an eye for goal. Seán was part of the Pats team that lost the 1974 final 3-1 to Finn Harps which saw the Donegal team claim the trophy for the first time.

Seán did do better than his Dad in that final, scoring Pat’s consolation goal, and he would taste cup success with his next side, Dundalk. Forming part of an impressive midfield which featured the likes of Barry Kehoe, Mick Lawlor and Leo Flanagan, Byrne would taste cup success twice as well as winning two league titles and impressing in Europe during his time at Oriel Park.

It was also during his spell at Oriel that a connection with New Zealand would first arise. In May of 1982 Dundalk manager Jim McLaughlin was tasked with selecting a League of Ireland squad for an end of season tour to New Zealand. The League of Ireland side was to provide the opposition for the New Zealand national team as part of five warm-up matches ahead of their first appearance at the World Cup that summer.

In preparation for facing Brazil, the Soviet Union and a strong Scottish side in Group six of World Cup 82, New Zealand would be up against Seán Byrne and his League of Ireland colleagues. With the season just ended the League of Ireland squad faced a trek of almost 20,000 km ahead of the first game in the town of Rotorua, landing just 48 hours before kick-off. The extent of the journey may have contributed to back-to-back 1-0 defeats on successive days in New Zealand before a 0-0 draw was achieved in Gisborne. The fourth match of the series of five took place in the city of Dunedin and would be the League of Ireland’s only win on the tour, a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Seán Byrne and Athlone Town’s Denis Clarke.

An important connection was made on that tour, with Kevin Fallon the assistant manager of New Zealand, the Englishman had spent time in the League of Ireland with Sligo Rovers (he was part of the Sligo team which lost to Bohemians in the 1970 final) and he was impressed by Byrne’s performances. Back in an Ireland that was facing high unemployment, and a bleak economic outlook Seán Byrne was finding working life a struggle. A former coachbuilder for CIE and later a lorry driver, (gaining him the nickname Yorkie) Seán spent most of 1982 and 83 looking in vain for a job and getting by “with the dole and the few pound I made from playing football”. Fallon suggested that Byrne and his young family relocate to the city of Gisborne in New Zealand where he was managing the local team and could also arrange for work for Seán in the local shipbuilding industry.

Seán enjoyed almost immediate success with his new antipodean club side and eventually took out New Zealand citizenship, and with Fallon installed as national team coach from 1985 Seán was included in squads for the 1986 World Cup qualifying campaign, appearing in a victory over Taiwan and a defeat to Israel in what was ultimately an unsuccessful qualifying attempt. Byrne would eventually win five caps for his adopted homeland before moving again to Australia where he worked as player-coach for Morwell Pegasus close to the city of Melbourne.

In 2000 Seán was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease which sadly claimed his life aged just 48 in 2003. A popular footballer on and off the pitch his passing was mourned in Dublin, Dundalk and is his adopted homes of New Zealand and Australia.

Originally published in 2023 as part of the Ireland v New Zealand match programme.