Old Man Belfield

Response After the university shared the news of Byrne's death, "thousands of messages" poured in from students, alumni, staff, past and present, and the local community, with each one sharing their "deep affection for this kind and gentle soul who came to affect the lives of so many of us", according to the University College Dublin Foundation. Eilis O'Brien, a writer for UCD Connections, noted in September 2021 that she had "never witnessed a response to the scale of our posting of the sad passing of Michael Byrne" in her 17 years working at the publication.

After his death, Byrne was considered to have possibly been the same Michael Byrne who had disappeared in the late 1970s from Dublin. After DNA and other evidence was assessed, the Gardai reached the conclusion that it had not been the same man. Owing to the interest in the man, the service was live streamed on the official UCD YouTube channel, as COVID-19 restrictions at the time limited the attendance at funerals to just ten people. as well as 'UCD in the Community' initiatives, and an annual student award". Peter Bergmann case, the mysterious death of an unidentified man in Sligo, Ireland in 2009, whose true identity remains unknown