Joe Byrne, the Northern Irish SDLP politician who served as an MLA for West Tyrone from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2015, died on December 30, 2025, aged 72.
Born on 29 November 1953 in Aghyaran, Castlederg, County Tyrone, he studied economics at Queen’s University Belfast before becoming a lecturer in Business Studies at Omagh College of Further Education. Byrne was elected to Omagh District Council in 1993 and became chairman in 1997.
He also represented West Tyrone in the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996 and served on the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
Joe Byrne (29 November 1953 – 30 December 2025) was a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone between 1998 and 2003, and again from 2011 to 2015.