CONAN BYRNE WILL bring the curtain down on a trophy-laden career with St Patrick’s Athletic tomorrow evening, when he makes his final appearance for the club against Derry City at Richmond Park.
The 33-year-old this evening confirmed he is leaving the Inchicore outfit after six years as a Saint, making 250 appearances and scoring 77 goals.
Byrne joined St Pat’s in 2013 from Shelbourne and instantly became a fan’s favourite at Richmond Park, helping the club to huge success in recent years, winning a League of Ireland title, the FAI Cup, two EA Sports Cups and the President’s Cup.
The midfielder, who also had previous spells with UCD and Sporting Fingal, was one of the club’s most consistent performers in his six seasons as a Saint, making over 30 league appearances in all but one campaign.
“It has been a rollercoaster couple of years with the club, won everything with the club and had a bit of success,” he said, ahead of Friday’s Premier Division clash with Derry.
“The fans have warmed to me from the start, I signed from Shelbourne, where I wasn’t getting much game time, and people might have been surprised by the signing Liam [Buckey, former manager] made in me. But they took to me straight away and I hope that I’ve repaid that over the years.”
One of Byrne’s standout moments for Pat’s was his goal of the season strike against Bohemians in 2017, when he scored from inside his own half at Dalymount Park as the visitors recorded a 4-0 victory.
The Dubliner has been one of the club’s great servants and will say farewell to Richmond Park tomorrow evening at the end of a difficult season for Pat’s, with long-serving boss Buckley stepping down last month.
Harry Kenny was this week named as Buckley’s successor ahead of the 2019 season.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you @stpatsfc ❤ pic.twitter.com/UVSoFrzQYx
— Conan Byrne (@conanbyrnecb7) October 25, 2018
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