Lorna Byrne

Byrne was born in Dublin, and grew up in poverty in the Dublin suburbs of Kilmainham and Ballymun. She relates that she has seen angels since she was a baby. "I see angels physically and I have done so since I was a baby. I know this is hard to believe, and I know that there are some people who will never believe me, regardless of what I say or do. I have no idea why I see angels and others don’t; I am just an ordinary woman. When I have asked the angels around me about this, their reply has simply been “Why not you?” She was labeled as "retarded" when very young, and speculates that this might be because she was so often in her own world. Lorna's childhood was challenging for many reasons, including difficult family relations because Lorna was often observed as different resulting in something of an ‘outsider’ status. Despite a specific learning difficulty that makes it hard for someone to learn to read, write and spell correctly, as well as a misconception as to her learning capabilities, Lorna has achieved many things.

"I have been shown what could happen if the situation in Syria is not resolved; I have been shown how a major conflict could develop that leads to a massive loss of life all around the world, with consequences that impact us all. I have been shown the survivors of humanity feeling such despair and anger that we, the people of the world, had not done enough to diffuse [sic] this situation, that the leaders of the world and Syria didn’t do enough to stop it, and that the people of the world were too preoccupied with that was going on in their own lives to stand up and demand that their leaders act.

I see them as physically as I see someone standing in front of me. I have never seen anyone without a guardian angel. I see them with people of all religions and none, with people who are good and bad, with people who believe in angels and with those who don’t. I understand that for some people it’s hard to believe that there could be such a thing as an angel, or even that I can see angels. I can't prove the existence of angels, or that I see them. I wish I could. All I can do is tell you what I see and am told and then leave it up to you.

Your guardian angel loves you unconditionally and knows you to be wonderful, to be perfect and to be innocent. Your guardian angel wants to help you to reconnect with your innocence because it will make your own life happier and easier and also because if we all reconnected with this innocence, our world would be a much better place. If we all recognised the innocence in everyone else in the world there would be no war or killing. There would be much less hunger and injustice. We would have a much more peaceful world. I am not talking about naivety; rather, I am talking about a pure innocence that allows us to see the good in ourselves and in others. I am not talking about immaturity, rather a maturity that is deepened by the awareness of the innocence of everyone. The more we understand our own and one another’s innocence, the more we grow and the better people we will become.

I have no idea why I can see them and others can’t. I am dyslectic and uneducated and have never read a book. The only education I have is the education that God and his angels have given me, but that education is not recognized in this world.

Larry Dossey, MD., NY Times bestselling author, writes, “Since recorded history, certain individuals have sensed, seen, and conversed with angelic presences. Since we are appallingly ignorant about the nature of consciousness, it is premature to dismiss these reports as fantasies, which is too often done. Lorna Byrne’s ‘Angels in my Hair’ is captivating. It is both a challenge to skeptics and an inspiration to those whose experiences confirm transcendental realities.”

In March 2016, Byrne signed a three-book deal with her London publisher Coronet, which was followed by the publication of Angels at my Fingertips. A book on prayer, Prayers from the Heart, was published in 2018, and a book of children's stories will also be published.

In 2015, Byrne established the Lorna Byrne Children's Foundation, which supports the work of charities helping children in need. Funds the Foundation raises are currently split equally between UNICEF Ireland, which is supporting children affected by the Syrian Civil War, APA — A Partnership with Africa, which supports the self-empowerment of women and children in Ethiopia and Tanzania, and Blue Box Creative Learning Centre, which provides art therapy to children in Limerick. Money is raised through public donations and speaking events.

Byrne has travelled to be a subject in two full-scale documentaries: the American production The Lady Who Sees Angels, which was directed by Ted Yacucci and released in 2015; and, to raise funds for the Lorna Byrne Children's Foundation, an Irish production filmed in Ethiopia, The Future belongs to the Young, directed by Hugh Chaloner and released in 2017.

In February 2014, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Betty Williams joined Byrne at the Sufi Mosque at Tribeca for a prayer event for unity among Muslims.

We have been trivializing angels for some time — turning them into good luck charms rather than acknowledging them as the powerful and important forces they are. In truth, by degrading angels we have been degrading ourselves.

Byrne states that all religions have access to God, and no person should think theirs better than the others. She maintains that God and the angels would like all religions to worship together, each according to their own understanding, none trying to convert the others. "It needs to become normal for all of us, regardless of our education, our status in life or our method or place of prayer, to come together with open hearts — without any agenda — to pray to God in whatever way feels appropriate to us."

Media appearances in the United States have included a 2012 interview on CNN, and interviews in 2010 and 2012 on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.

Michael Alper, author of The "God" Part of the Brain, related his opinion in 2012, "Either a) she actually believes it, or b) she is a complete charlatan. There is no option c) – that she would be talking to angels. Human beings are simply genetically predisposed to believe in some kind of spiritual reality."

In 2011, Byrne expressed her support for Occupy Wall Street. In 2014, she attended the UN Climate Summit and the People's Climate March. In 2014 and 2015, much of her work was devoted to fostering unity between Sunni and Shia Muslims in America, which Byrne believes is important in influencing American foreign policy in the Middle East.

Angels in My Hair is a memoir of her early and married life. Stairways to Heaven (2010) is a memoir of life after the death of her husband, including the story of writing her first book and becoming a public figure. She states that it contains many details of how angels work in the world. A Message of Hope from the Angels is about the importance of hope "in these challenging times". Love from Heaven introduced the topic of what she describes as a lack of love in the world today, and discusses the importance of loving oneself, which she says is necessary for being able to love others. She also stated for the first time that she sees the force of love as she does angels. The Year With Angels (2016) helps readers to recognise their spiritual side through the different seasons of the year, and includes photographs of Ireland in the four seasons. Angels at my Fingertips (2017) is billed as a sequel to Angels in my Hair, and contains detailed descriptions of exercises for connecting to guardian angels.

In 2009, Tariq Ramadan recommended Angels in My Hair in Foreign Policy. In 2014, Byrne met and was endorsed by the theologian Matthew Fox. John L. Esposito, professor of International Relations and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, said, "A Message of Hope from the Angels offers a message of hope that speaks to the crises and everyday problems that many struggle with in today’s world." John Carty, an endorphin release therapist, said Byrne's ability to see energy in the human body has helped him in his work.

Byrne married Joe in 1976. She relates that when she was young an angel showed her a vision of the man she would marry, and told her they would be happy and have children, but that she would need to care for him and that he would die young. Their married life was spent in a cottage near Maynooth, in Co. Kildare. They had four children. As she conveys having been told, Joe was often in poor health, and he died in 2000.

Lorna Byrne (born 25 March 1953) is an Irish author and peace ambassador. She is best known for her bestselling memoir, Angels in My Hair (2008). A Message of Hope from the Angels (2012) and Love from Heaven (2014) debuted at No. 1 on the UK Sunday Times Book Chart. Her books have been translated into 30 languages and published in over 50 countries. Byrne says that she sees angels and spirits physically on a daily, continuous basis. She has been featured in many media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, The Economist, The Observer, and the Daily Telegraph.