Before I Go. Vanishing Dublin: Gerard Byrne Gallery | Trinity St, Dublin

Before I Go. Vanishing Dublin gathers over fifty uniquely Dublin cityscapes by Gerard Byrne — Georgian terraces, Victorian facades, charming pubs, and beloved pockets of verdure that continue to define his practice. Canal locks, iconic rooftops and reminders of Baile Átha Cliath’s industrial heritage. Largely recent works, the exhibition also includes a small selection of early paintings — a rare glimpse into where it all began. 

In turbulent and uncertain times, beauty can feel fragile. Cities change quickly, and what once seemed permanent can disappear almost overnight. For Byrne, this is precisely why he works en plein air, placing himself directly before his subjects, capturing architecture and atmosphere in equal measure,

Dublin exists in the particular: in this rain, this red brick, this pint. Specificity makes a place. You can’t build heritage. You can only inherit it, tend to it, or betray it.

"A city that forgets what it looked like loses something it can never recover." - Gerard Byrne

In this, Byrne continues the work of Harry Kernoff and Flora Mitchell, exemplified in her book Vanishing Dublin (1966). Sixty years on, he faces the same conviction that what is not recorded is lost forever. Byrne captures these urbanscapes to insist they matter. To say: I saw you. You were beautiful. And before I go, before you go, I'll make sure someone remembers.

*Please find below a small selection of the works that will be on display, just to give you a flavour.