Garrett Phelan was born in Fingal, North County Dublin in Ireland. His family history is rooted in the local villages of Skerries, Donabate & Portrane. Fingal has been an integral part of his thinking around his working practice as an artist since 1995.

In 2007 Garrett Phelan was invited by the Fingal County Council Arts Office to develop a public art project for the county.  Phelan was selected based on his previous work and associations with the area. After a period of research he proposed a project entitled THE HIDE PROJECT which was influenced by the Balleally landfill site, a unique location which sits on the Rogerstown Estuary and is renowned for its birdlife.  THE HIDE PROJECT takes the form of a 21st century permanent functional monument, a concrete bird hide, dedicated to the people of Fingal and their proximity to and relationship with the landscape.  It includes THE HIDE SUITE, a box set of 28 prints of birds which the artist observed at the Balleally site over a 10 year period whilst working on this commission.  The set is presented in an archival solander box, with accompanying map and photographic documentation of THE HIDE SCULPTURE, and an essay by artist Isabel Nolan.

Read an article entitled 'Garrett Phelan has seen some remarkable things' by Isabel Nolan, December 2016