[1] Modelled in the style of Quinn, his predecessor, Byrne built on the established foundations by adding churches in Gulgong, Coonamble and Stuart Town, and a convent at Wellington.
[1] In 1875, Byrne sent Father John Dunne to Dubbo as parish priest and over a period of ten years helped him establish a brick church and the Convent of Mercy, which had day and boarding schools, before recalling him to Bathurst to administer the cathedral parish, supervising the construction of a Patrician Brothers' monastery and enlargement of the cathedral.
[2] Byrne followed a similar pattern of rejecting the independence of the Josephite community, formed by Father Julian Tenison-Woods in conjunction with Mary MacKillop.
Byrne barred Woods from exercising any further influence; destroying letters and records, and demoting him to the rank of episcopal confrère.
Byrne granted Curran permission to accept appointment as lecturer in geology and mineralogy at the Sydney Technical College and later as government geologist, before returning to Bathurst to edit the Catholic newspaper, The Record.