HUNDREDS of mourners gathered yesterday to say a moving farewell to a young father who died suddenly.
There was standing room only as family and friends attended a ceremony at St Deiniol’s Church in Hawarden to pay their respects to 22-year-old Ashley Byrne from Hawarden.
Mr Byrne died on January 8 after a period in intensive care at the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery near Liverpool, following a suspected brain haemorrhage.
Mr Byrne’s brother Matthew paid tribute to him and told how he “always had a cheeky twinkle in his eye” and of the fishing trips the pair enjoyed with their father Michael.
A group of Mr Byrne’s friends stood part way through the service and took off their jackets to reveal white shirts with “Ashley Byrne” printed on the back which they had paired with red ties in honour of his favourite football team, Manchester United.
The Rector, Rev David Lewis, led the service and there was also a reading by the Rev Sarah Hildreth, who knew Mr Byrne’s family and described the popular young man as “inspirational”.
Rev Lewis read a poem called On the Ocean, written by Mr Byrne when he was 11-years-old and a pupil at Sandycroft County Primary School, suggesting friends and family could take comfort from its line about “a paradise where the sun never sets”.
Mr Byrne, who worked as an electrician at Chester and District Housing Trust, leaves girlfriend Katie Ensall and their six-month-old daughter, Lillia.
The keen footballer also leaves mother Julie Waters and sister Johanna, 14.
His coffin was carried down the church aisle to I don’t want to miss a thing and donations were given to Help For Heroes.
Mr Byrne was buried in Hawarden Number Two Cemetery.
Mr Byrne played for several local football teams, including Sandycroft Junior School and Hawarden Rangers.
Between the ages of 11 and 15 he had trials for Everton, Manchester United and Tranmere Rovers.
This weekend all clubs in the Deeside Sunday Football League held a minute’s silence in memory of Mr Byrne, who was a member of Mancot’s White Bear FC at the time of his death.