Farewell to a True Hero

By Marcus Braid on July 2, 2014 in News

Pat Byrne was a hero in every sense of the word. A family man, fiercely loyal mate, the ultimate clubman and unerringly brave.

Emotional tributes have continued to pour in for the 2002 Bali bombings survivor and rescuer since he passed away last month. Pat, 41, was a cornerstone member of the Coogee Dolphins – a past player, president, coach, donor and fundraiser. The Dolphins were rocked by the 2002 Bali bombings, which claimed six of Pat’s close mates.

“Pat was heavily involved in the recovery of pulling people out when the bomb went off,” childhood mate Adam Condon said. “He’s been attributed with saving multiple lives.

“The courage he showed was above and beyond… he came home with nightmares and they don’t leave you. He got through that and had two beautiful sons.

“He was very resilient and he was not the person who overtly would make people feel sorry for him. No matter what pain he was feeling on the inside, he’d always be laughing on the outside.”

Pat’s remarkable actions were recognised with an Australian Bravery Award in 2008, while he remained a pillar of strength for the Dolphins and the families affected.

“Pat was more concerned with the families’ welfare than his own,” Dolphins President Brock Thompson said. “That’s the sort of guy he was – he was very unselfish. He organised fundraisers for families who were obviously struggling at the time going back to work.”

A Coogee Dolphins man to his bootstraps, Pat helped organise the Dolphins’ participation in the 2003 World Sevens tournament at the Sydney Football Stadium. His two years of club presidency resulted in the Dolphins winning back-to-back premierships in 2007 and 2008.

“Our football club was built around guys like Patty,” Mr Thompson said. “Qualities like courage, mateship, loyalty… we were a battling little club before the bombing. After it happened we had guys come from all over the state to come and play with us, and help build the club back up.”

Pat was a passionate developer of the Dolphins’ juniors, and coached his son Jet in underage teams.

“He got a training facility for our junior Dolphins at Bardon Park pushed through, which took him years of battling,” Mr Thompson said. “If we didn’t get those facilities, we wouldn’t have any juniors in our club. It was quite important for the kids in our area to have somewhere to train.”

“Patty was also instrumental in having Dolphin Point named Dolphin Point. He was the guy who lobbied for that. After Bali it was something he wanted to honour the boys with and honour the Eastern Suburbs people with. He was the guy who actually approached [Randwick] Council and got that through.”

Pat attended St Aloysius’ College in Milsons Point with Mr Condon and Dolphins player Josh Illiffe. Iliffe was one of the six Dolphins casualties in Bali, and Condon flew over after the bombings to identify bodies and assist with the recovery process.

Mr Condon said Pat will be fondly remembered on a range of fronts.

“Pat will remembered as the club’s most successful president, he’ll be remembered as a hero, and he’ll be remembered as someone who influenced a lot of kids to start playing rugby league,” he said.

A former premiership-winning President’s Cup player at the Roosters in 1993, Pat was known to be a talented five-eighth with a sharp tongue.

“Gus Gould was head coach back in those days and decided to call a meeting for all three grades to air any grievances,” Mr Condon said. “Gus opened the floor up and no one said a word. It was dead silent and he was about to wrap it up, but Pat put his hand up from the back of the room. He was in the room with seasoned first graders… here’s little Patty Byrne, the President’s Cup player.

“Pat said to Gus, ‘some of the boys think you’re unapproachable’. Gus said, ‘okay Pat, if you can’t approach me, who can you approach?’ to which Patty replied, ‘I suppose I’d approach a coach from a different club’. The room erupted in laughter. Pat and I would always joke that that was the end of his Roosters career and the start of his Dolphins career.

“That’s Pat to a tee. He was an extrovert and he’d be the life of the party. He’d make people feel special. If he didn’t like you, he’d tell you straight to your face.

“His two biggest attributes were his loyalty and his honesty. His loyalty drove him back into a fire.”

Vale Patty Byrne – a heroic life.