Thanks for the tip off on that. Very good read.
Tipp great Theo English
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Bed of heaven to him. A long time shuffling around the old place
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RIP
Sad to note the passing of one of the great stick-men, a master of the overhead pull.
They were a hardy bunch, the Tipp teams of his era, but Theo left the timbering to the lads behind him. I met him once about 10/12 years ago and he was a thorough gent who belied his age. RIP.
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RIP to a legend
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Can someone throw this up please
Enigma of Old Man Belfield and family who cared for him
Michael Byrne lived out in the open for 50 years and never spoke. He may have died on his birthday, writes Niamh Horan
The University College Dublin (UCD) flag was flown at half mast last week following the death of Michael Byrne.
There is very little known about the elusive figure who frequented the universityâs campus and affectionately became known as âOld Man Belfieldâ, but what is clear is that he lived outdoors for at least 50 years.
In the 1970s Miriam McCarthy, a local woman who volunteered with Dublinâs Simon Community, came upon the solitary figure on a run-down site near St Vincentâs Hospital in Dublin 4 and approached to offer help, but her attempts at conversation were met with silence.
As the weeks went on she brought food and hot drinks to his makeshift hut, but quickly realised he was deeply private and independent and so kept an eye from a distance, becoming an unofficial guardian of sorts.
Eventually Michael trusted her enough to come to her home in Merlyn Park, where she and her husband SeĂĄn organised that he would sign on for his pension each week and have a fry-up before leaving.
Like clockwork every Thursday morning, Michael would visit their home and eat in silence.
Miriam nicknamed him "the dreamerâ.
One of the coupleâs sons who lived in the house at the time recalls: "My parents were of the opinion he might have had some medical treatment that might have affected his speech or that something might have happened in his earlier life. It was very unusual to continue on from the 1970s to 2021 and not speak a word.â
Before leaving the McCarthysâ house, "Michael would always look back at you and nod and you knew that nod meant an awful lot. It said a lot.â
Describing him as a "soft and gentleâ man who was "incredibly passiveâ, Mr McCarthy says: "The only time I ever saw Michael become agitated was when the services came to the house and they explained to him that they had social housing ready for him behind the Tara Towers in Ballsbridge.
"He became very agitated and just mumbled his only two words - one began with âFâ and the other with âOâ.
"Over the years I saw neighbours give Michael a sleeping bag or an umbrella and it would be in a bush in two minutes. Michael never took more than he needed.â
As the years went on, the site where he set up his hut was developed into the Merrion shopping centre and Michael was forced to find another spot, eventually resting at a location in UCD.
He continued to visit Miriam McCarthy until she died in 1996 and her husband carried on the weekly visits. But SeĂĄn was getting older and wasnât able for their usual encounters, so he would bring Michael into the garage at the front of the house and lay out tea and sandwiches. He always received the same grateful nod before he departed.
In 2014, SeĂĄn became ill and he asked his sons to take over the tradition. They became Michaelâs unofficial next-of-kin, giving him a weekly cup of tea and sandwich at the front door.
One son explains: "Michael was getting very old and frail. I had to walk him from Merlyn Park so that he knew where to come. I used to go out in the mornings looking for him, and with traffic or whatever there were some days that I might have missed him.
"There were some days you would think, âJaysus Iâm going on my holidaysâ and you would be asking the neighbours to look out for him, and then there were days when you would find yourself worried about him, especially in the snow.
"I remember the snow of 2017, it was waist high, and a lovely doctor called and asked me to find him. We looked all over but couldnât find him anywhere.
"Eventually we discovered UCD had opened a room for him and left him out coffee and biscuits each day and thatâs how he got through that period. In fairness, the university were very good to him.â
Over the years Michaelâs silent presence on the campus became the stuff of legend. A student recalled how his warm blue eyes and his "quiet look awayâ were "caught somewhere between respect and disinterestâ.
Some said Michael was once a lecturer who fell on hard times after hitting the bottle.
But in truth he never touched alcohol, although he loved his John Player Blue.
One staff member recalled how he once appeared at a well-heeled conference that hundreds of experts had flown in from all over the world to attend. He quietly observed the event as the scholars enquired about the man in their midst, before he slipped out the door again.
Another former student described how "he watched and absorbed the unfolding madness of men, hammering each other in the pursuit of glory. I often wondered what he would have made of it all.â
One of Miriam and SeĂĄnâs sons describes how in recent times he would check on Michael twice a week, especially in the winter months: "My worry for him was always the cold and it was probably the cold that got him in the end.â
Michaelâs body was discovered last Monday morning by services on the campus. Preliminary post-mortem results indicate he died of a heart attack.
"We are led to believe he was born on January 10, 1949. His body was discovered on January 11,â explained Miriamâs son. "So there is every possibility he died on his birthday.â
By Tuesday, the online notice had been viewed 200,000 times. Tributes have since poured in from graduates and lecturers all over the world.
One source said, "His funeral could have been paid for five times over with the offers we received.â
Massey & Sons will provide both the removal and funeral service pro bono. A bench bearing Michaelâs name will be placed in the universityâs rose garden.
His funeral will take place this Wednesday and Declan Wildes, a former UCD Choral Scholar, will perform His Eye is on the Sparrow in tribute.
The public can view the service online on UCDâs official YouTube channel but only 10 people will attend due to Covid restrictions. A source said: "The small gathering is what Michael would have wanted.â
The emotional outpouring has surprised many, but in a world driven by consumerism and status anxiety, his unofficial next-of-kin mused that perhaps others saw in Michael what is so lacking today. "Michael had nothing, but he had more than most. He was content and he always held his dignity. He never once let it drop,â said Miriamâs son.
Kilternan Park Cemetery has offered to provide a grave and a headstone.
A source said: "He will be in the environment of the forest, the wild, the rugged, where he was used to.â
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He looked like he was in his 70s for 20 odd years, hence the name I suppose. I wonder where he settled in UCD, the Estates claimed not to know but they must have. Heâd have had to have moved around a fair few times over the years given all of the construction.
He was born a bit late for Industrial Schools but I assume he grew up in an orphanage or something.
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We will never see his likes again.
Thanks for that. Not too much insight either, which I think is a good thing. He doesnât deserve his affairs to be pulled open by the likes of her or anyone.
May he rest well. The bench is a nice gesture, much better than those cunts suggesting statues and murals.
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Tom Doyle, founder of Tom Doyle Supplies and various other businesses. A huge and significant supporter of Wexford GAA, he led many of the initiatives to bring the county back from serious financial difficulty.
Iâm surprised he was only 72, thought he was older, some life, some man.
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Big Shuggy
A staple of Match Days in Thomond
Fuck that was tough on her. RIP
Dementia in your 50s 
She was a mainstay of European days in Thomond.
Any lad whose been involved in the development of a pitch will know youâre at nothing if youâre not going through Prunty
RIP