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Entitled My Journey Home, the exhibition is described by the artist herself as “a great big collage of my paintings covering Greystones and its
My Greystones childhood and young adult life was idyllic in every way. Learning to swim in the docks, Brownies, Guides, camping in Belmont, summers hanging out and swimming at the men’s, playing tennis and dancing (or Hops!) in the old tennis club.
My great-grandparents, grandparents, parents all lived in Windgates and Greystones . When I look up to Bray Head from the harbour I feel the four generations of Darcy’s tumbling down through the fields down to the harbour!
Married with a family we regularly came home to Greystones to breathe to the beat of Greystones’ heart and be with family and friends.
In 2018 when my MS decided my life would be easier in a wheelchair I gave up work and looked for new experiences . I discovered I could paint! Working with acrylics I painted from photos my Greystones friends sent over and happily painted commissions for people in Ireland, and around the world.
This collage captures the moments and memories that made returning home so wonderful.

Toni Smith: My Journey Home
aving painted most of her life, homecoming queen Toni Smith
will be the subject of a 2-week retrospective exhibition at Greystones library from June 10th.
neighbours”, representing many years of Smith’s work, and of the town she calls home once more.

I’ve watched my hometown evolve yet never lose it’s soul. When the docks and the men’s disappeared the cove became the ideal swimming spot as the rock pools were replaced with layers of sand.
It was my way of being home in Greystones from across the Irish Sea. I painted old Greystones and new Greystones both with the same beating heart. I made prints of my paintings for greeting cards and calendars which I sold over the next few years. Then thanks to Brexit and COVID I took a break.
