Diarmaid Byrnes

Diarmaid Byrnes (born 1994) is an Irish hurler who plays as a right wing-back for club side Patrickswell and at inter-county level with the Limerick senior hurling team.^[1][2]

Diarmaid Byrnes

Personal information
Irish name	Diarmaid Ó Broin
Sport	Hurling
Position	Right wing-back
Born	1994 Patrickswell, County Limerick, Ireland
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Occupation	Student
Club(s)
Years	Club
	Patrickswell
Club titles
Limerick titles	2
Colleges(s)
Years	College
	Limerick Institute of Technology
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2016-present	Limerick	45 (3-127)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	6
All-Irelands	5
NHL	3
All Stars	4
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 19:01, 07 July 2024.

Playing career

School

Diarmuid Byrnes attended secondary schooling in the famed Hurling nursery Sexton Street CBS “Limerick CBS” In the heart of Limerick City. Here Byrnes followed in the footsteps of many previous hurling royalty to pass through the famed schools doors and hurl with Limerick

University

During his studies at Limerick Institute of Technology, Byrnes was selected for the college's senior hurling team for the Fitzgibbon Cup.^[3]

Club

Byrnes joined the Patrickswell club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels.

On 23 October 2016, Byrnes won a Limerick Hurling Championship medal after scoring six points from centre-back in Patrickswell's 1-26 to 1-07 defeat of Ballybrown in the final.^[4]

Byrnes lined out in a second Limerick Championship final on 6 October 2019. Playing at centre-back, he scored two points, including a long-range free, and collected a second winners' medal following the 1-17 to 0-15 defeat of Na Piarsaigh.^[5]

Inter-county

Minor and under-21

Byrnes first played for Limerick at minor level in 2012, in a season which ended with a defeat by Clare in the Munster Championship semi-final.^[6][7]

Byrnes subsequently joined the Limerick under-21 hurling team. He made his first appearance on 4 June 2014, however, he was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in a 2-20 to 1-14 defeat by Clare.^[8]

In his second season with the team Byrnes won a Munster Championship medal after a 0-22 to 0-19 win over Clare in the final.^[9][10] On 12 September 2015, Byrnes was at right wing-back when Limerick defeated Wexford by0-26 to 1-07 in the All-Ireland final.^[11] He ended the season by being named on the Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year.^[12]

Senior

Byrnes made his first appearance for the Limerick senior hurling team on 13 February 2016 in a 2-23 to 0-15 defeat of Wexford in the National Hurling League.^[13] Later that season he made his first championship appearance in a 3-12 to 1-16 defeat by Tipperary in the Munster Championship.^[14]

In April 2017, Byrnes sustained a knee injury which rules him out of the championship.^[15]

On 19 August 2018, Byrnes scored a point from right wing-back when Limerick won their first All-Ireland title in 45 years after a 3-16 to 2-18 defeat of Galway in the final.^[16] Later that day he was named on The Sunday Game Team of the Year.^[17] Byrnes ended the season by being nominated for an All-Star Award.^[18]

On 31 March 2019, Byrnes was selected at left wing-back for Limerick's National League final meeting with Waterford at Croke Park. He collected a winners' medal following the 1-24 to 0-19 victory.^[19] On 30 June 2019, Byrnes won a Munster Championship medal after scoring three long-range frees from right wing-back in Limerick's 2-26 to 2-14 defeat of Tipperary in the final.^[20]

Career statistics

As of match played 07 July 2024.

Team	Year	National League			Munster		All-Ireland		Total
		Division	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
Limerick	2016	Division 1B	7	0-16	1	0-00	2	0-03	10	0-19
	2017		6	0-03	0	0-00	0	0-00	6	0-03
	2018		7	1-13	4	0-06	4	1-04	15	2-23
	2019	Division 1A	8	0-20	4	0-09	1	0-02	13	0-31
	2020		5	0-06	3	0-08	2	0-04	10	0-18
	2021		3	0-05	2	0-07	2	0-07	7	0-19
	2022		5	0-15	5	0-25	2	0-11	12	0-51
	2023		4	0-17	5	1-16	2	0-11	11	1-45
	2024		6	0-11	5	1-11	1	0-03	12	1-25
Career total			51	1-106	29	2-82	16	1-45	96	4-235

Honours

Patrickswell

• Limerick Senior Hurling Championship: 2016, 2019

Limerick

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• National Hurling League: 2019, 2020, 2023
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship: 2015 (c)
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship: 2015 (c)

Awards

• The Sunday Game Team of the Year (5): 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• The Sunday Game Hurler of the Year: 2022^[21]
• All-Star Award (4): 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• GAA-GPA All-Star Hurler of the Year (1): 2022^[22]

References

1. O'Connell, Jerome (9 January 2016). "18 new faces on Limerick hurling panel". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
2. O'Connell, Jerome (16 June 2016). "Limerick select four debuts for Munster SHC against Tipperary". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
3. "Fitzgibbon Cup: Byrnes points way as LIT edge out UCD". Irish Independent. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
4. Cormican, Eoghan (14 October 2016). "Magnificent Patrickswell still pride of the parish". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
5. Keys, Colm (6 October 2019). "Cian Lynch comes to the fore as Patrickswell hold off Na Piarsaigh in Limerick county final". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
6. "O'Sullivan sinks Cork". Irish Independent. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
7. "Banner dig deep to see off Limerick". Irish Independent. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
8. "Clare power and class too much for Limerick". Irish Examiner. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
9. "Clare power and class too much for Limerick". Irish Examiner. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
10. "Munster U21HC final: Treaty Lynch Banner". Hogan Stand. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
11. Cormican, Eoghan (12 September 2015). "Limerick ease past Wexford to claim U21 hurling title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
12. Hannon, Shane (23 September 2015). "The names are in - here are the Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year nominees". The 42. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
13. "Wexford have no answer for prolific Limerick". Irish Times. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
14. Breheny, Martin (20 June 2016). "Tipp pass the Limerick test with honours". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
15. O'Connell, Jerome (4 July 2017). "Limerick 'fully aware' of Byrnes club hurling action hours before Kilkenny qualifier". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
16. McGoldrick, Seán (19 August 2018). "Limerick are All Ireland hurling champions for the first time in 45 years following epic victory over Galway". Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
17. "Limerick rule in The Sunday Game team of the year". RTÉ Sport. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
18. "All Star hurling nominees: 15 Limerick players in contention". Hogan Stand. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
19. O'Toole, Fintan (31 March 2019). "Limerick end 22-year with for league honours in style with final win over Waterford". The 42. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
20. O'Toole, Fintan (30 June 2019). "More glory for Limerick as they lift Munster crown with 12-point win over Tipperary". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
21. "Diarmaid Byrnes the player of the year as Limerick dominate team selection". RTE Sport. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
22. "Diarmaid Byrnes pinching himself after Hurler of the Year award". RTE Sport. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.