Chris Byrne

Who is Chris Byrne?

Chris Byrne is an American Celtic hip hop musician from New York City of Irish descent. He co-founded the band Black 47 with Larry Kirwan in 1989. Before and for some years after forming the band, Byrne was a New York City police officer. While still with the band, he created a side project - the Celtic hip hop band Seanchai & the Unity Squad. "Seanchai" is Byrne's hip-hop stage name, loosely translated from Irish as 'storyteller'. He left Black 47 in 2000, reportedly to focus on his "new" group. Current members of Seanchai and the Unity Squad are Rachel Fitzgerald on vocals, Andrew Harkin on bass, Terry Wetmore on drums and Jason Goodrow on guitar.

In 1996, Byrne purchased Rocky Sullivan's, a classic-style pub, in New York City.