Alan Byrne (Gaelic footballer)

Alan Byrne is an Irish sportsperson who currently plays Gaelic football for Wicklow Senior Football Championship team Annacurra and is a member of the Wicklow senior team since 2003. Byrne predominantly plays as a corner back for Wicklow but plays in many central positions from centre back to centre forward for his club.^[1]

Playing career

Intercounty

Byrne had a distinguished underage career at intercounty level playing both minor and under 21 for the county for numerous years. On the back of his performances he was called into the Wicklow Junior team that won an All-Ireland Junior title in 2002 where he played in the corner back position. The following year, he was a member of the senior side and made his championship debut as a sub vs Louth. He spent some time in the intercounty wilderness following the arrival of Hugh Kenny as manager. In 2007, Mick O'Dwyer arrived and Byrne has been an ever present since. Over the last number of years, he has won Tommy Murphy Cup in 2007 and a NFL Division 4 title in 2012. He scored his first intercounty point with the last kick of the game against Waterford in the 2012 qualifiers to force extra time which eventually saw Wicklow progress onto the next round. As a result of this performance he made the Irish Independent team of the week.^[2]

Club

Byrne's club, were involved in numerous heartache during the 2000s. They lost consecutive county finals to Ashford, Blessington, Newtown (after 2 replays and 2 periods of extra time) and Avondale. They then lost the 2008 final to Carnew before finally gaining senior status in 2010 with a narrow win over Éire Óg Greystones. Alan captained the team to this title and as a result of his performances over the year, he was awarded the Intermediate Player of the Year for the second occasion (first in 08).^[3]

References

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