Gabriel Byrne Made Honorary Director of Dublin’s Grand Canal Square Theatre

Gabriel Byrne, most recently seen on Broadway in A Touch of the Poet, returned to his native Dublin to lay the first boards for the stage of The Grand Canal Square Theatre, a new theater in the Irish capital. At the ceremony, Byrne was made an honorary director of the theater, according to a report on the website for the U.K. magazine The Stage. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, the theater is expected to be completed by March 17 of next year.

Byrne’s namesake, Gay Byrne, the former Late Late Show host, was also appointed an honorary director of the theater at the board-laying ceremony. With seating for 2,100, it will be city’s largest venue since the Theatre Royal, which closed back in the 1960s. The theater will be run by Live Nation and it is expected that the new facility will enable Dublin to stage major international productions.