National Gallery of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Dublin audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~75 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type museum
- Suggested visit ~75 min
- Dublin Dublin guide
About National Gallery of Ireland
Ireland's premier art museum with free admission, housing a Caravaggio rediscovered in the 1990s and the world's largest collection of works by Jack B. Yeats.
The National Gallery of Ireland on Merrion Square West opened in 1864 and houses one of the finest collections of European art in these islands, spanning seven centuries from the medieval to the modern. Entrance is free and the gallery is wonderfully uncrowded compared to major European museums.
The collection's most famous single work is Caravaggio's 'The Taking of Christ' (1602), one of the great masterpieces of Baroque painting. Lost for centuries, the painting was rediscovered in 1990 hanging on the wall of a Jesuit house in Dublin, where it had been since 1930. It had simply been assumed to be a copy. When cleaned and examined by experts, it was identified as the lost original.
The Gallery also holds the world's most important collection of works by Jack B. Yeats, brother of the poet W.B. Yeats, whose intensely coloured, emotionally charged paintings of Irish life are among the greatest Irish artworks of the 20th century. George Bernard Shaw, who left a third of his estate to the gallery, is commemorated by a famous statue outside.
Did you know? Caravaggio's 'The Taking of Christ' hung unrecognised on a Jesuit house wall in Dublin from 1930 to 1990, when it was finally identified as the lost original.
How long should you spend at National Gallery of Ireland?
Plan about ~75 min at National Gallery of Ireland. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is National Gallery of Ireland worth visiting?
National Gallery of Ireland is one of the 42 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Dublin, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Dublin
Hear the story of National Gallery of Ireland
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