John Byrne: A Life Forged in Paisley’s Crucible John Patrick Byrne, born in 1940 and still actively creating today, is a singular figure in Scottish art and theatre – a playwright who became a painter, a designer whose vision permeated the stage, and an artist grappling with deeply personal revelations. His story isn't one of conventional artistic ascent; it’s rooted in the stark realities of working-class life in Paisley, a town he would both fiercely celebrate and unflinchingly critique through his work. Growing up in the Ferguslie Park housing scheme, Byrne experienced firsthand the hards…