The National Gallery of Ireland is one of the country’s most popular visitor attractions. It houses the nation’s collection of European and Irish art from about 1300 to the present day, and an extensive library and archive.
Entry to the permanent collection, and many temporary exhibitions, is free for all. Open seven days a week, the Gallery is conveniently located in Dublin City centre, a short stroll from Trinity College and Merrion Square.
Free guided tours are available at weekends. Family packs and drawing and creative writing kits are available to borrow for free. Facilities include a shop, café, and wheelchair access to all levels.
Some temporary exhibitions need to be booked in advance and have an admission charge, but there are discounts and special offers available.
Take a look at the Gallery website in advance of your visit for full details.
- AIB Portrait Prize and Young Prize
Family funAIB Portrait Prize and Young Prize The AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize competitions will showcase contemporary portraiture and invites submissions from artists working in all media across the island of Ireland, and from Irish artists living abroad.
- Turner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest
Family funTurner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest To mark the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth, we are undertaking an exciting exchange with the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).
- Talk & Tea: Anne Hodge in Conversation with Niall Naessens
Arts and cultureTalk & Tea: Anne Hodge in Conversation with Niall Naessens Join National Gallery of Ireland for a captivating conversation with Anne Hodge, curator of the Vaughan Bequest Turner Watercolours from the National Galleries of Scotland.
- Weekend Watercolour Course: Turner's mastery of light, colour & natural phenomena
Arts and cultureWeekend Watercolour Course: Turner's mastery of light, colour & natural phenomena National Galleries of Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest of J.M.W Turner’s Watercolours will go on display at the National Gallery of Ireland for the first time in January 2025. Join them for an immersive weekend of painting course.
- Public Tour: Turner's Watercolours: Scotland's Vaughan Bequest
Free things to doPublic Tour: Turner's Watercolours: Scotland's Vaughan Bequest Join the National Gallery of Ireland for a guided tour exploring some of the highlights of the Gallery's exhibition Turner's Watercolours: Scotland's Vaughan Bequest.
- Crazy About Women - Celebrating the Poetry of Paul Durcan
Arts and cultureCrazy About Women - Celebrating the Poetry of Paul Durcan This very special evening will celebrate both ‘Crazy About Women’, a collection of poems inspired by paintings in the collections of the National Gallery of Ireland, and ‘80 at 80’, a collection of 80 poems published for Paul’s 80th birthday.
Call into Sweny's Pharmacy in Lincoln Place immortalised in James Joyce’s Ulysses, still selling the famous lemon soap as bought by Leopold Bloom in chapter five of Ulysses.
