byrne played his club hurling and football with his local st. canice's club. he won county minor titles in both codes in 1964, however, the club disbanded shortly after and byrne joined the famous james stephens club. here he won a senior county title in 1969. byrne captured a second county medal in 1975, however, he later left the team to concentrate on his rugby career. in doing this he missed out on the greatest day in james stephens’ history as the club defeated the mighty blackrock in the all-ireland club final in 1976. in the early 1990s byrne returned to james stephens as trainer of the club’s senior hurling team.