Packie Manus Byrne

Singer, whistle player and storyteller; Donegal

Born
18 February 1917, Corkermore, County Donegal
Died
12 May 2015

Packie Manus Byrne grew up in a Gaelic speaking home in west Donegal and left for England at nineteen, working as a railwayman and circus hand among much else. From the mid 1960s he was a favourite of the English folk clubs as a singer, whistle player and storyteller. He acted in Ken Loach’s film Black Jack and later retired to Ardara.