The one painting to see
The gallery’s most famous picture spent decades misattributed, hanging unrecognised in a Jesuit house in Dublin, until a 1990 cleaning identified it as Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ. It has hung here on indefinite loan ever since, and it’s free to see. If you have twenty minutes in the building, spend them in front of it: the collection has other treasures, but this is the one people cross the city for.
The National Gallery of Ireland holds the national art collection on the edge of Merrion Square, in the Georgian Quarter, and entry to the permanent collection costs nothing – more than 16,000 works across five centuries, free to all. There is no audio-guide handset to borrow; bring your own phone and headphones if you want commentary as you go.
Walking through the wings
The building grew out of the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1853, where a popular art display convinced the public that Dublin needed a permanent national collection. The National Gallery of Ireland Act followed in 1854, and the original building – designed by Francis Fowke, with early input from Charles Lanyon – opened in 1864 with just 112 paintings.
Bequests filled it out over the following century. The Milltown Wing (1903) was built to house the Dowager Countess of Milltown’s donation, followed by the Beit Wing in 1968 and the Millennium Wing in 2002. That last, by Benson & Forsyth, brings a tall glass atrium and daylight to the Clare Street side, a deliberate contrast with the plasterwork and staircases of the older Dargan and Milltown wings. A major refurbishment of those historic wings, completed in 2017, restored the rooms and added a new courtyard while upgrading climate control and access.
What else to look for
Beyond the Caravaggio, the collection runs from the European Old Masters through to modern Irish art. There are works by Vincent van Gogh and the French Impressionists in the European rooms, but the heart of the gallery is Irish. Jack B. Yeats’s The Liffey Swim catches Dublin’s river culture in motion, and Frederick William Burton’s watercolour Meeting on the Turret Stairs – voted Ireland’s favourite painting in 2012 – still draws a crowd. The later rooms hold the bold geometry of Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone, and contemporary work by Sean Scully.
The National Portrait Collection is worth a detour of its own, ranging from historical figures to James Joyce, Bono, Edna O’Brien and the designer John Rocha.
Exhibitions and events
The gallery runs a rotating programme of temporary exhibitions; most of the permanent collection stays free, but ticketed shows carry a charge. Free guided tours run regularly with no booking needed, including themed tours of Irish art and slower, mindfulness-led walks through the rooms.
Every 16 June the gallery takes part in Bloomsday, with free tours tracing its Joycean connections. The Millennium Wing entrance marks the spot where Joyce first met Nora Barnacle in 1904. For families, free family packs and drawing and creative-writing kits can be picked up at the information desks.
Practical information
Opening hours and admission
The gallery opens seven days a week. The one to note is Monday: it doesn’t open until 11am, while Tuesday to Saturday it opens at 9.15am, and Sunday again at 11am. Thursday is the late night, until 8.30pm. The permanent collection is free; some temporary exhibitions charge.
Getting there and parking
The gallery is in a walkable stretch of the city. Pearse Street DART station and the Dawson Street Luas stop are both about five minutes away, with Dublinbikes stations at the Clare Street and Merrion Square West entrances. There is no public parking on site beyond designated disabled spaces; on-street parking on Merrion Square is metered, and the Q-Park at Setanta Place is a short walk from the main entrance.
Facilities
On Level 0 of the Millennium Wing, the café serves coffee, tea and light meals, with indoor and outdoor seating, and the shop stocks art books, prints and Irish-designed gifts.
Around the Georgian Quarter
The gallery fits neatly into a wider day in the area. Leinster House, the seat of the Oireachtas, is across the square, with free tours of the chambers. Trinity College and the Chester Beatty Library are a short walk west, and the Abbey Theatre is about ten minutes north.
The quietest way to see the collection is Thursday evening, when the late opening runs to 8.30pm and the crowds have thinned. Walk in, head for the Caravaggio first, and let the rest of the building come to you.