Francis Byrne was born in Kilcar, County Donegal and was educated locally. As a boy he was hired to work the land. He and his brother Mickey Byrne (1899-1980) were masters of the self-taught fiddle music of Donegal. They played to raise money for Father McDyer's co-operative scheme in Glencolumbkille. They composed music and oral poetry and told stories on any given occasion. Francis was the lead fiddler and Mickey played octave fiddle. They were revered by musicians all over the world, such as Sean Maguire and Boys of the Lough, many of whom came to visit Kilcar. Frequent recordings were made, especially by Ciaran Mac Mathuna from Radio Eireann. They won numerous prizes at Fleadhs and the Francie Dearg Memorial Fleadh is held on the 23rd of July in Kilcar. They are listed in RTE archives

Born:	1903
Died:	1987