Luke Byrne: ‘I’ve had managers of other clubs telling me to retire. I’ve had people who I knew over the years asking me if I was retiring. That’s when I was 25 or 26.’

None

Luke Byrne is used to proving people wrong.

After being told he was finished, a spent penny and to retire at the age of 26, he is now just a few days away from leading Shelbourne out at the Aviva Stadium in Sunday’s FAI Cup final.

The career of Byrne is one of hardship and serious injury problems – with limited success sprinkled in between.

In 2016, Byrne suffered a cruciate ligament injury that kept him out for almost a year – one that blighted the end of his time at Shamrock Rovers.

In 2018, the now 29-year-old left the Hoops and joined Shelbourne, and initially enjoyed success at Tolka Park, winning the First Division in 2019.

But in 2020, Shelbourne were relegated at the expense of Longford Town, with Byrne sent off in the play-off final as the Reds went down.

However, the Reds returned to the top-flight at the first time of asking in 2021 – and are now in the FAI Cup final, with Byrne leading the charge after an encouraging 2022 campaign in the Premier Division.

“I suppose there are times when you wonder if a day like this will come,” the Shels captain admits ahead of Sunday’s cup final.

“But I’ve always believed in my own ability as a player, even when I was injured. All I’ve ever really known is football and it’s been instilled in me ever since I was young to work as hard as possible. That's what I’ve done every time I’ve been injured.

“Thankfully the last few years I’ve been able to put a good run of games together. I think I’m still improving in a position that is relatively new to me the last two or three years. There is plenty more football left in me.”



The 29-year-old has put a consistent run of games together while at Tolka Park and has excelled in Damien Duff’s back three which is testament to the character of the centre half.

Not one to give up and throw in the towel, Byrne spends most of his week putting in Trojan work behind closed doors ensuring he is fit to put on the captain’s armband every week.

Having been told to retire during his time at Shamrock Rovers, Byrne was one of the standout performers in the Premier Division this year and admitted that the anger and determination to silence his doubters has spurred him on this year.

“It’s been tough. There were times where you were just wondering. I’ve had managers of other clubs telling me to retire, I’ve had people who I knew over the years asking me if I was retiring. That’s when I was 25 or 26.

“At the time it’s tough to hear. It just nearly makes you angry more than anything, because you know there is more in you.

“When I had the amount of injuries I had, you just, in a weird way, get used to them. Ah here we go again! I know what to do. It isn’t a nice place to be, but it helps you get over them.



“You can focus on yourself, you can focus on the little mini-goals you set.

“When you love football as much as I do, you’ve got no choice but to do the graft and get back, because the thought of not playing football, particularly at that age, would scare the life out of you.

“No one medically, but I was at Rovers for five years and missed more than two and a half years with injury. And that was at a young age. I’m sure people, their natural reaction would be, the older you get the more difficult it would be to stay fit.

“All the injuries I had were different. It’s not like I had one recurring problem. I spend a lot of time now recovering.

“I’ve got a masseuse coming to the house every week. I’d be in ice baths five or six days a week, in the gym four or five days a week, so I do more than anyone to stay fit,” he added.

While he had to battle his demons off the pitch, despite becoming a mainstay in Shelbourne’s return to the Premier Division in 2020 times were tough on the pitch for him as the Drumcondra outfit were relegated to the First Division.

Looking back, he views it as a learning experience.

“Yeah, it was the worst time in my career. I got three red cards in the last four or five games that season, so I was very much involved in it.

“But I actually felt I had quite a good season and I always believed in myself, in my own ability. I thought I could do well at this level. I never really lost belief in myself.

“Obviously it was a major kick in the boll*x for the club to go down at the time. We were really building momentum on and off the field.

“But we have got back there now, established ourselves as a Premier Division team, we are in the Cup final, a lot of exciting things are going on and personally I feel I have had a good season.

“You can look back on 2020 and say, as bad as it was, we learned a lot from that as a club.”

Shelbourne have not won the cup since 2000, and have not appeared in the showpiece since losing to Sligo in 2011.

The trophy and a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League beckons for the Reds on Sunday if they win, but Byrne is focusing on enjoying an occasion that has eluded the Reds for so long.

“It’s been 11 years since they [Shelbourne fans] were here. They obviously didn’t even win it back then.

“So this is a day I’m sure they have been waiting on for a long time. It will mean as much to them as it does to us on Sunday.

“People who have played in it have said this week is as much about your family and friends and fans as it is about yourself.

“Obviously there is pressure and the tension will build the closer you get to the game, that’s natural. But you’ve got to enjoy it as well, it’s the best week of the season, the biggest day of the season. It doesn’t come around often.”

About Rónán MacNamara

View Full Profile