 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 10 April 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Kill, County Kildare, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 98 kg (15.4 st; 216 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Naas C.B.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University College Dublin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Sam Byrne (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adam Byrne (born 20 April 1994) is a former Irish rugby union player, who played for Leinster Rugby and Connacht Rugby. His preferred position was on the wing, although he also played at full-back. His brother Sam is a professional football player.
Byrne made his Leinster senior debut on 29 December 2012 at the age of just 18, making him the youngest ever player to play for Leinster.[1] In the interim, Byrne played for the Leinster A side, which won back to back British & Irish Cup trophies, before fully emerging into the Leinster squad in 2015-16, whilst still a member of the academy. Byrne opened his scoring account for Leinster by crossing the whitewash on only his second ever start, versus Zebre on 12 February 2016.[2] Byrne was awarded a senior development contract with the province to commence in the 2016-17 season.[3]
It was announced in March 2022 that Byrne had signed for Connacht alongside teammates Peter Dooley and Josh Murphy for 2022/2023 season. In April 2023 it was announced that Byrne would leave Connacht at the end of the 2022–23 season.[4] Byrne announced his retirement from rugby in August 2023 at the age of 29.[5]
In 2015 and 2016, Byrne played with the Ireland national rugby sevens team, which aims to be a permanent national team. He played different sevens championships to gain promotion to the 2017 Grand Prix Series. He also played the Olympic qualification tournament, but Ireland failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics after a defeat against Spain in Cup quarter final (12-7).
On 26 October 2017, Byrne was named in the extended Ireland national rugby union team for the Autumn internationals.[6] He made his debut against Argentina on 25 November 2017, starting as a winger and ending the game as a centre.[7]