The last name Byrne is an old Irish surname. Claiming descent
from Bran, the king of Leinster, who died in 1052. The Byrne clan
originated in County Kildare where they held extensive territory
until the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 - 1170. From
there they migrated to Wicklow where they occupied the country
between Rathdrum and Shillelagh.
Their name in Irish is properly O'Broin, meaning the male
descendant of Bron, the raven. The O'Broins were noteworthy for
their resistance to foreign aggression, and they continued to
inaugurate native chiefs up to the end of the 16th Century.
Alderman Alfred Byrne (1882 - 1956), a distinguished member of
the clan, was ten times Lord Mayor of Dublin.
The Byrne coat of arms has the blazon of a red shield charged
with a chevron between three silver dexter hands couped at the
wrist, the Crest being a mermaid with comb and mirror proper. The
first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Fiacha
Mac Hugh O'Byrne, the military leader, dated 1544 - 1595, in the
Historical Records of Dublin.