News

The Byrne family of Cloncurry and Kilcock have organised a three day charity walk along the banks of the Royal Canal during the May bank holiday in aid of MS Ireland.

The walk starts in Mullingar at the family’s ancestoral home and makes its way to Ashtown on the Navan Road in Dublin where the family live today.

About 50 people will complete the full three day walk but the family are expecting about 200 people to join them at different stages througout the weekend.

The famous author Fr. James Dawson-Byrne was born at no. 9 Railway Terrace in Mullingar which is now a railway museum. It is from here that the Byrne family moved to Dublin in the late 1800′s. The three day walk is unique in so far as it traces the history of the family along the banks of the Royal Canal over a 150 year period. The family will take a brief detour to the family graves at Kilcock on Sunday to mark the centenary of the birth of John Byrne in 1912. John is the grandfather of Edward Byrne Jnr who is the main organiser of the event.

For more information  and details about how to make a donation, contact Derek Byrne at derek@clanbyrne.com or go to the MS charity walk facebook page.

The annual Clans of Ireland Gala dinner and AGM Friday 27th and Saturday 28th of April will be attended by Derek Byrne, President of Finte O’Broin and Fr. David Byrne, Vice President of Finte O’Broin.

This is the first time Clan O’Byrne of Leinster will be represented at the annual Clans of Ireland event.

On behalf of everyone at Clan O’Byrne of Leinster and Finte O’Broin I would like to wish all who belong to the great Byrne family world wide a very happy Easter.

I had the privilege of serving at the Service of Light last night at Christchurch Cathedral with the Archbishop of Dublin, Michael Jackson. The theme of resurrection is one which I feel is very apt when I look at the work being done by our clan society today. Clan O’Byrne of Leinster is out of the darkness once more and shining a light on the culture and identity of our great name all around the globe.

I hope that you are all sharing today with your family wherever you are in the world.

With all good wishes,

Derek Byrne.

This morning, Ceann Fine Derek Byrne received a message of appreciation from HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco in response to Saint Patrick’s Day wishes sent to the Royal Family of Monaco in celebration of their Irish heritage on their mother’s side of the family.

Prince Albert’s mother HSH Princess Grace was born Grace Kelly and visited Ireland on many occasions. In 1976 she bought the Kelly ancestoral home, a two roomed stone cottage in Drimurla near Newport in Co. Mayo where her grandfather John Kelly was born in 1857.

The princess had planned to build a holiday home on the land she had bought in Drimurla but was sadly killed in a car accident in 1982 before her plans were realised.

Prince Albert and the Royal Family of Monaco obviously hold their Irish ancestry very dearly as Prince Albert showed when he brought his wife HSH Princess Charlene to Ireland in April 2011.

The Board of Finte O’Broin would like to wish all Byrnes in Ireland and throughout the world a very happy Saint Patrick’s Day.

Beannachtai le Feile Paidraig.

Derek Byrne KOR, President Finte O’Broin.

The Napoleonic Society of Ireland was launched on Sunday March the 4th by Mr. Gerard Cairet at St. Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street, site of the execution of Robert Emmet in 1803.

The event was attended by J. David Markham, President of the International Napoleonic Society who conferred the Fellowship of the International Napoleonic Society on Byrne Clan President Derek Byrne.

The award, which is sanctioned by HSH Prince Charles Napoleon is in recognition of Derek’s efforts in establishing The Napoleonic Society of Ireland which aims to explore the intellectual, philosophical and political links between Napoleon Bonaparte and Ireland.

It was also announced that the International Napoleonic Conference will take place in Dublin in 2016 to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

We are delighted to announce that Sister Stan Kennedy, founder of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, has agreed to accept the first Emmet Medal for Humanitarian work in an Irish context.

The Emmet Medal will be presented at a ceremony to launch the Napoleonic Society of Ireland on Sunday March the 4th at 5pm at St. Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street, Dublin 8, the site of Robert Emmet’s execution in 1803.

For tickets to the event, please contact me at derek@clanbyrne.com

On behalf of our Executive Committee and all involved with Finte O’Broin, I would like to wish all members of the O’Byrne Clan of Leinster at home and around the world, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prospeous New Year.

We look forward to 2012 with excitement as we embark on new ventures with Finte O’Broin.

Derek Byrne – Clann O’Brion Laighin.

We are delighted to announce that membership of Finte O’Broin has reached the 100 mark after only six months.

Our website gets around 100 visits per week from around the world and we would encourage people to register as a member and continue to build Finte O’Broin and Clan O’Byrne of Leinster into a strong and vibrant clan organisation.

We are pleased to announce that Finte O’Broin is now a member of the Equality and Rights Alliance (ERA) which is an organisation which promotes humanitarianism and equal rights for all in Irish society.