Jack Byrne has revealed how he and Prince William spoke about Aston Villa, and in particular Jack Grealish, when the Shamrock Rovers midfielder met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Tuesday evening.
The Royal couple attended a reception in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, where guests on the night included actors Liam Cunningham, Deirdre O’Kane and Robert Sheehan.
Activist Sinead Burke was also in attendance to meet the couple, along with Irish rugby star Garry Ringrose and Rovers ace Byrne, who scored the winner in a memorable 3-2 win over Dundalk on Friday.
Byrne, like Prince William, takes a keen interest in Aston Villa and the pair discussed Sunday's Carabao Cup final, which Grealish's side lost to Manchester City 2-1.
Despite the honour, Byrne, who was capped twice for Ireland last year, was not lost for words on the night.
Byrne also chatted to the Prince's wife, Kate Midleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.
What an honour 👑 https://t.co/Lc1F3JoR9F
— Jack Byrne (@Jackb_8) March 3, 2020
He told Off The Ball: "I wasn't nervous to be honest. We were all at a table, they came over to us and had a couple of minutes for everyone, talking normal stuff. It was good.
"They were sound. Lovely. I chatted to Prince William about Villa as I'm a Villa fan myself and we spoke about Jack Grealish, as I am friends with Jack.
"He knows his football; he was at the game on Sunday.
"They couldn't spend that much time with everyone but I was talking to Kate as well. She said that he was a mix between a Villa and a Chelsea fan but that he doesn't know who to support!
"She was lovely to be fair."
Asked did the couple know who he was, Byrne said: "Yeah - they were well-briefed!
"It was a good experience. It's not every day you get to meet royalty. Royalty and 'the weasel'," he joked, referencing his nickname at Shamrock Rovers.
The Hoops travel to Sligo in a bid to maintain their unbeaten start to the league on Saturday evening.
Story by Johnny Ward
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