Born: June 1st, 1934
Died: December 6th, 2025
Brian Coyle, who has died aged 91, was chairman of James Adam & Sons Limited, the highly regarded fine art auctioneers and valuers, whose company has been associated with Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green for almost a century and a half.
In a remarkably long life, Coyle spent the best part of 70 years working for the company, becoming chairman approximately 25 years ago. And, while he attained great age and took a less active role in the day-to-day affairs of the company, his position as chairman was one that he cherished.
READ MORE
He was renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of 19th century Irish furniture of the George IV and William IV period, and was well known to the owners of country homes across Ireland and the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Among his professional colleagues, be they auctioneers, estate agents or antique dealers, he was respected for his knowledge and for his integrity. And he was liked also as a man of considerable wit and charm who enlivened many dinner parties. Socially, he was much sought after for the simple pleasure of his company.
Coyle was born in Dublin in 1934, and was one of four brothers. Little is known of his schooling and he didn’t attend university. Rather, he joined Adams as an apprentice in his 20s and never left, climbing to the very top of the company and establishing a reputation as an expert in several fields.
The company was one of Dublin’s oldest. It was founded in 1887 by James Adams, then living at 136 St Stephen’s Green but running a valuation and auctioneering business from No 17 Merrion Row.
James Adams died in 1932 and was succeeded as head of the company by his son, but he too died just two years later. A grandson, also called James, took over and in 1968, the opportunity arose to acquire a substantial premises on the corner of St Stephen’s Green and Kildare Street and the company moved there from Merrion Row.
[ 2025 in art: Our 10 favourite Irish exhibitions of the yearOpens in new window ]
When he joined the firm, Brian Coyle was apprenticed to James Adams the grandson and to his Adams co-director at the time, Jimmy Gill. While Adams concentrated on the fine art side of the business, Gill developed the property end of things.
“Brian cut his teeth with both James and Jimmy,” says current Adams director, James O’Halloran.
The company had something of a culture of self-improvement from which Coyle benefited hugely.
“In typical Adams fashion,” says O’Halloran, “he was encouraged to improve his educational qualifications and he became a member, and then a fellow, of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. In Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute, of which he was president in 1971, before which he was chairman of their education committee.”
Coyle developed a particular interest in period furniture and items from the Arts and Crafts movement of the late Victorian and early Edwardian period, including the linked work of William Morris. He also developed an expertise in Irish silver and in porcelain,
Reflecting perhaps his own experience, he took on a mentoring role within Adams.
He was tremendous company and a thoroughly decent, nice man. He was a great man for the anecdote and was always a very desirable guest. If Brian was there, you could be sure the conversation would flow
— Tom Doorley
“He taught me a huge amount,” recalls arts adviser and consultant Jane Beattie, who worked at Adams for 10 years. “We would all hold things back to ask him. He had a great knowledge of the decorative arts – Irish silver and porcelain in particular.
“He was serious in his work but he also had a great sense of fun, especially in a working environment, which was great.”
Coyle enjoyed passing on his accumulated knowledge. For a time, he lectured in antiques and fine arts for an extramural course in UCD. He served also on the Board of Visitors of the National Museum of Ireland on which he represented the Royal Dublin Society.
For a number of years, he had slot on Gay Byrne’s Late Late Show on RTÉ television. It took a lighthearted, have-a-go approach to antique restoration in which a viewer showed off a piece in severe need of TLC, on which Coyle gave advice. On a follow-up programme some months later, Coyle would duly pronounce on the end result.
Adams’s wealthier clients, especially those of title, liked dealing with him, and he with them. “He was the consummate professional,” says O’Halloran, “and remarkably charming – and that was probably how he developed such a profile in the business”.
The solidity of such relationships was evident in the fact that many clients stayed working with Coyle four decades after first dealing with him. And while he enjoyed his role as chairman, he was not overbearing – in his latter years being “happy to let us get on with it”, as O’Halloran puts it.
[ RDS Visual Art Awards 2025: A showcase for 10 impressive new creative voicesOpens in new window ]
Coyle lived most of his adult life in a period property on Cross Avenue in Blackrock, Co Dublin. He played bridge regularly, never married, but was much sought after socially.
“He was tremendous company and a thoroughly decent, nice man,” says food and wine journalist Tom Doorley. “He was a great man for the anecdote and was always a very desirable guest. If Brian was there, you could be sure the conversation would flow. He was never domineering but he could certainly spin a yarn. He enjoyed a gossip and there’d be lots of laughter.”
Coyle took an interest in the displays mounted in Adams’ window on to St Stephen’s Green, some of which were dressed with Jane Beattie – “he had an easy way of making things look good”, she says.
She too recalls a man of good company socially.
“At things like Christmas parties, I wanted to sit beside him. He socialised with people of all ages. He was an ageless person ... He was a man of great taste, style and elegance. He was also incredibly kind.”
Brian Coyle was predeceased by his brother Neil but is survived by his brother David, who lives in San Francisco, and his brother Richard who lives in Gateshead, England.
