Nicknamed Babby as he was the youngest of 11 and born in Dublin, he joined Shamrock Rovers in 1926 and had four spells at Glenmalure Park.
Byrne won three senior caps for the Irish Free State making a scoring debut as a Shels player on 20 April 1929 in a 4–0 friendly win against Belgium at Dalymount Park.
His last cap was as a Coleraine player in a World Cup qualifier against Belgium, also at Dalymount, on 25 February 1934.
In between, he had a spell with Shelbourne where he again finished top scorer with 15 goals in their second League winning season.
He was surprisingly small (5 feet 5 inches in height) in an era of big centre forwards, yet he was a prolific goalscorer.