Originally from Nelson, Byrne was a farmer by trade.[3] He moved to Wellington in 1906 and joined the Petone club where he impressed in the club competition almost immediately. Byrne was subsequently selected for Wellington and made his debut against Canterbury on August 18 where he scored a try and was part of the side that won the Ranfurly Shield. He played on 4 matches that season against Canterbury, Southland, Wanganui, and Auckland.
Wellington rugby team in 1906. Byrne is 4th from the right in the back row.
By 1913 Byrne had returned to New Zealand and was selected to be part of the tour of Australia, playing in his seventh and final test match. He contracted a bad cold on the tour which limited his playing time to just the 1 match. He had played 1 match for the Takaka club on May 10 against Nelson before his selection for the tour and then 1 match for Petone on May 24 against Athletic prior to the departure of the New Zealand team. Following the tour it appears that he stopped playing, aged 29.