It's all Patrick Vieira's fault really. Although there had been plenty of mentions of a certain 19 year old Dubliner making waves at Man City, it wasn't until the former Arsenal captain suggested that Ireland had another Roy Keane-like figure on our hands that people the general public really started to sit up and take notice.
Since then, Byrne has gone from strength to strength. For many young players, being shipped out on loan to another country and to a team that are really struggling could have been a recipe for disaster but Byrne has taken it all in his stride and Cambuur's relegation fight might well be already over were it not for some of Byrne's performances since the Christmas break.
With that in mind, it was easy to see why there was quite a bit of disappointment around these parts when Noel King called him up to the Ireland u21 squad to face Italy and Slovenia in the coming weeks.
Essentially, it meant that Euro 2016 had come too soon for Byrne to be considered. However, Martin O'Neill has ensured that Byrne has not felt left out as he invited the Man City loanee to train with the senior setup ahead of the Swiss friendly this weekend.
Thankfully, that gave Byrne the chance to state his case for the being involved in a more permanent sense and he certainly didn't let that chance go amiss. 'I believe I'm as good as anyone in the squad' was the headline quote from Byrne this week and it's something that, Martin O'Neill jokes aside, we're all delighted to see. A ball playing Irish central midfielder with the confidence to get on top of things and really affect the game, what more could you want?
But even we, the Irish public that would hype up a pint of Guinness if it was being pissed up against a wall in London, would suggest this may be going a bit far at such an early stage.
Having said that however, there's no denying that, judging by what he had to say about Keane this week, Byrne is nothing if not confident in his own ability.
I'm a technical player and I affect the game in different ways than maybe Roy might have affected them by getting on the ball.
I'm not saying that he couldn't play football. I'm saying that's just my key - the last pass rather than the first pass.
We don't mean to paraphrase but that's essentially, 'Roy, you took things easy and you coasted by playing the ball sideways and acting like a hard man'.
We jest of course. Anyone who's seen Byrne grow into himself in the Eredivisie this year will know just how why the hype has developed like it has. Having said that however, for all the self-belief, we're going to shy away from the Manchester Evening News' suggestion that he's already proved he has the potential to be better than Roy Keane.
Hope rather than expectation is the best way to play it at this stage of his career.
