 Caitlin Moran for "The Times" described Firrell's work as being built on "huge, open-chord statements that make your ears ring".Firrell was born in Paris, unexpectedly, on the Champs-Élysées outside what is now Sephora.He was London Cultural Ambassador for the now defunct "International Herald Tribune" curating the newspaper's first London Arts Season in 2005, titled "Breathless…" after Jean-Luc Godard's nouvelle vague film of the same title.