Trim lad Ian Byrne made his debut with SSE Airtricity League Of Ireland side UCD in a pre-season friendly last week against Cork City. The former Boyne CS student (17) joined the Bellfield club during the off-season having spent the last couple of campaigns with St Patrick’s Athletic.
Byrne, who is adept at either left full back or in midfield, is the latest from famed youth production line, Belvedere FC. That was also the starting point on the football journey for fellow Meathman Darragh Lenihan which culminated in the Blackburn Rovers captain being the first from the Royal County to be capped by the Republic Of Ireland at Senior level.
Having on two occasions been invited over for trials as a juvenile by Crewe Alexandra, UCD’s latest acquisition has already caught the eye of talent scouts at International level having been part of a couple of Ireland U-18 training squads. He will actually be joined at the UCD Bowl by former St Pat’s teammate Tommy Lonergan from Dunboyne.
With other Royal County youngsters Jamie McGrath and Killian Cahill having been in big demand lately, there seems sure to be plenty of interest in how Byrne and Lonergan continue in the development of their already impressive careers,
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