ABSTRACT
William Augustine Byrne was born Roscommon in 1864. His parents died when he was a child, and he and his two brothers were brought up by various relatives, first in Dublin and later in Ballydooly. He had an unusually broad education, first taking a course in agriculture at Glasnevin,' and then studying classics with a private tutor in Castlerea and Brandon. From there he went to the Royal Veterinary College, London, where he is said to have taken the four years course in only three years, presumably because of his agricultural degree. He obtained his MRCVS in May 1889 at the age of twenty-five, staying- on at the Royal Veterinary College for a further year as House Surgeon and Demonstrator in Anatomy.
