Thomas Byrne and his father, Tommy.

Death of former Drogheda councillor, Tommy Byrne

The death has occurred of former Drogheda councillor, Tommy Byrne, father of Meath East TD, Thomas Byrne.
Mr Byrne had been diagnosed with serious illness last Christmas, and did not run in the last local elections. 
Deputy Byrne has posted a tribute on his Facebook page, saying: “We are absolutely devastated to say that my dad, Tommy, passed away very peacefully this afternoon in the wonderful care of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, surrounded by us his family.”
"Tommy was an absolute legend in soccer, in business and in politics. Unfortunately, on his 73rd birthday last November, he was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with Glioblastoma. We want to sincerely thank all his doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and care staff in the Lourdes and in Beaumont, chaplain Fr Tommy Hogan and Fr Phil Gaffney and all our neighbours and friends. I also want to thank the huge amount of people who very simply asked us over the last few months "how is Tommy?". That meant a lot. RIP Dad, funeral arrangements later.

The photo was taken in January after coming in for lunch in the Dáil after a radiotherapy session.