A former Celtic and Ireland football star is before the courts charged with assaulting a woman on three separate occasions.
Paul Byrne (52), who played in midfield for Celtic in the 1990s, is charged with three counts of assault causing harm to the same woman on dates between September 2017 and May 2022.
The offences are alleged to have occurred at three separate addresses in Dublin.
The case came before Dublin’s District Court on Friday where the book of evidence was due to be served on Byrne.
However, the State requested an additional seven days to prepare the book of evidence and the matter was adjourned until next Friday.
Byrne was a talented footballer whose career highlight was scoring twice for Celtic in Old Firm derbies against Rangers.
His footballing journey started out with his local Dublin team Bluebell United in the 1980s before he signed for English club Oxford United as an apprentice at the age of 13.
At the time, the club was in the top flight of English football and included Ireland players Ray Houghton and John Aldridge amongst the first team squad.
Byrne made his debut for Oxford at the age of 16 and stayed with the club until 1991 when he signed for Arsenal.
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He spent six months at Arsenal playing in the reserves but failed to break into the first team squad and left to play for Bangor in the Irish league where he became a club hero, scoring the winning goal against Ards in the 1993 Irish Cup Final.
He won a host of personal awards, including both senior and young Northern Ireland PFA Player of the Year and both senior and young Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
His performances at Bangor caught the attention of then Celtic manager Liam Brady, who signed him for the Scottish club. He even moved in with Brady and his family for his first six months at the club before finding his own place.
Byrne was called up the Ireland international squad in 1994 under Jack Charlton and made the bench for a friendly against Russia but didn’t get on the field and never went on to play for Ireland at senior level.
Byrne spent two seasons at Celtic and famously scored two goals in the Old Firm clashes with Rangers.
He later had a stint on loan at Brighton before moving to Southend United under former Ireland star Ronnie Whelan.
His later career saw him return to Northern Ireland to play for Glenavon and south of the border with St Pat’s and Bohs, who he captained to a league and cup double.