Tony Byrne won a bronze medal in the men's lightweight boxing at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and served as flag bearer for Ireland at the Opening Ceremony of those Games.
From Hardman's Gardens, Drogheda, Byrne was introduced to boxing at the local Tredagh Boxing Club at twelve by his eldest brother Jimmy, dropped out for a few years, but then rebuilt his career through a period in the Irish Army.
He won the Irish senior featherweight title in 1951 and the lightweight title in 1952. In Melbourne, after receiving a first-round bye, he defeated the 'unbelievably crude and appallingly strong' Josef Chovanec of Czechoslovakia when the Czech was disqualified following two official warnings. He then outpointed eighteen-year-old USA representative Louis Molina in the quarter-final with three cracking punches in the opening of the second round proving decisive.
The bronze medal was secured by victory in the quarter-final, with Byrne losing the semi-final to reigning European champion Harry Kurschat of Germany.
Boxing
