Byrne spent three years as a scholarship student at St Macartan's College in Monaghan, but later transferred to O'Connell School in Dublin after taking his Intermediate Certificate exam.
He would attend boxing matches at the National Stadium, write his reports at home and drop off the article at the offices of the Evening Mail before going on to school.
He supplemented his freelance journalism earnings by taking a day job as a clerk with British Rail, where one of his colleagues was Jimmy Magee.
Over the course of the following 38 years he covered soccer, boxing and athletics, including six FIFA World Cups and eight Olympic Games.
Byrne also contributed many pieces to Britain's the Daily Telegraph and the News of the World as their Irish sports stringer.