Father of three dies after rugby match

A 37-year-old father of three who died suddenly after a rugby game over the bank holiday weekend will be buried today. John Byrne from Troyswood, Kilkenny, collapsed and died minutes after playing a game with his 18-year-old son, Richard.

His remains will be interred today in a cemetery just yards from his favourite rugby grounds.

The water treatment plant manager is the fourth sports player to have died suddenly this year. Two GAA players and a rugby youth all lost their lives in the past few months.

Mr Byrne is believed to have suffered a heart attack in the dressing rooms at the pitch at Foulkstown on Kilkenny’s Waterford road. His eldest son was with him at the time he started feeling unwell.

His other son, Gavin, is also a keen sporting fan and usually attends games, but he was not at Saturday evening’s match.

Both boys, and their sister, Rebecca, were being comforted by their mother, Priscilla, grandparents, family and friends last night.

A spokesperson for Kilkenny rugby club said Mr Byrne usually played in the second row with the club’s third team. But he was called upon to play on Saturday when the team was short of numbers.

He is believed to have been sitting in the dressing room after the game against Belfast side, Randalstown, when he began to feel ill.

He received immediate medical attention but was dead on arrival at nearby St Luke’s Hospital.

His remains will be interred at Foulkstown Cemetery after 11am mass today.