Kevin Francis O’Byrne was born in Galway, Ireland, on 2nd December 1934, the 2nd son of Sean and Mary O’Byrne. He received his primary school education at the Patrician Brothers’ School and later attended St Joseph’s College, Galway, where he did his leaving certificate in 1952.

After primary and secondary school in his native town, he joined the National University of Ireland (N.U.I.), Galway, where he obtained a 1st Class Honours Degree in Civil Engineering, coming first, country-wide, in the Engineering class of 1955.

That same year he met and joined Opus Dei, while pursuing specialized courses in Statistical Analysis and Computations as a Hydrometric Engineer for the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland under Prof. Donge and tutoring to students of N.U.I. From this point forward, Kevin had a deep sense of mission, and he set out in his search for personal holiness, dedicating himself generously to helping others.

In 1957-58 he worked as a Design Engineer for the British Reinforced Concrete Engineering Company in Dublin and in the UK. When St Josemaría Escrivá, the Founder of Opus Dei, asked him whether he would move to Kenya to help start the Work there, he unhesitatingly dropped the promising career already undertaken and came to Nairobi, where he would spend the remaining 50 years of his life.

As Kevin passed through Rome on his way to Kenya, the Founder removed from his neck his medal-scapular of the Blessed Virgin Mary and hung it on Kevin’s neck, exchanging it with the one Kevin had. It was a blessing that would accompany Kevin for the rest of his life.

In Nairobi, he had no difficulty in obtaining work with the firm of Ove Arup and Partners as a Design Engineer. He calculated the structures of various office blocks, including the Government Lands Office Nairobi, New Mulago Hospital Kampala, Norwich Union building Nairobi, Life Insurance Corporation of India building Nairobi, etc.
In 1959 he took a job as an Assistant Lecturer with the then Royal Technical College, the core of the future University of Nairobi, where he taught Soil Mechanics and the Theory of Structures.

When Strathmore College of Arts and Science opened its doors on 6th March 1961, Kevin once again dropped his second career as a University lecturer to prepare ‘Advanced’ level students for the Cambridge Higher School Certificate in Mathematics, Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, and two years later for the Advanced Level General Certificate of Education examinations of the University of London, in the same subjects.

As a teacher he was meticulous, precise and extremely well-organized. He had his classes carefully planned out for the two-year course and had a sincere concern for constantly improving his methods. In the examinations in January 1965, Kevin’s class had 100% passes at Advanced Level. In addition to helping them improve academically, Kevin spent a lot of time counselling students and teaching them how to live an upright and pious Christian life.

Kevin was an outstanding athlete, rugby coach and referee. His first pupils were St Mary’s under-13s and later Strathmore students, where he organized the sport from scratch and taught the game to beginners who had never had a chance to play before. Thanks to his coaching and encouragement, in 1963 and 1964 Strathmore College won the seven-a-side competition organized for schools in Kenya.

Kevin was an accomplished rugby, football, and tennis player. In rugby he represented East Africa as scrum half 1960-65, and played the same position for Kenya and Central Province and club teams. He also played a good game of golf, reaching a single-digit handicap at his peak. Kevin had a way of applying this sporting spirit to other aspects of his life as well.

Together with teaching, he discharged his duty as Vice-Principal of the College for the five years 1961-66. When having to act as Principal in the incumbent’s absence, he always did so authoritatively and decisively, without however appearing as a harsh disciplinarian. On the contrary, he had an exceptional understanding for teenagers and their ways, which made him not only a valuable member of staff but also gained for him the full respect of his students.

In 1966 he returned to the University of Nairobi, where he taught the Theory of Structures and Fluid Mechanics for five years, 1966-71, after which he returned to private practice, first with Architects-Engineers Collaborative 1971-76, and then with Gathaiya Njagi and Partners to the end of his life.

In 1980 he was appointed a member of Strathmore Registered Trust, and helped guide the expansion of Strathmore’s educational initiatives. In 2006-07 he accepted once again the job as a lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics at the newly set up Strathmore University. Many of his students remember how concerned he was to help them in their studies, even when this meant spending extra time with them after class.

All those who met him during his fruitful half century in Kenya testify to his quiet, unassuming and sincere personality, as well as to his absolute integrity and his living a God-fearing life. He cared little for himself, and was quick to spot other people’s needs instead. When Kevin learnt that he had cancer, he accepted his condition serenely and with full trust in God. He offered up the discomfort, and never complained in any way, being careful not to draw attention to himself. The enormous contribution to Kenya by this good and faithful servant was offered in an unobtrusive and effective way.