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.
- Maurice Marinot - On Paper, In Glass
WinterMaurice Marinot - On Paper, In Glass Maurice Marinot (1882–1960) was a French artist renowned for redefining the expressive potential of glassmaking. This in-focus exhibition showcases a selection of his works of art spanning from the 1900s to the 1950s.
- Picasso: From the Studio
WinterPicasso: From the Studio The National Gallery of Ireland, in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris, is delighted to present Picasso: From the Studio, a major monographic exhibition of the work of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).
- AIB Portrait Prize 2025
WinterAIB Portrait Prize 2025 See the AIB Portrait Prize 2025 at the National Gallery of Ireland from 8 November 2025 until 15 March 2026
- Turner as Inspiration
WinterTurner as Inspiration The National Gallery of Ireland welcomes back their 31 watercolours by J.M.W. Turner, following their loan to the National Galleries of Scotland last year.
- Public Tour: Comedy
WinterPublic Tour: Comedy Join Underthings - Improv, an improv and sketch duo, for a tour of the Gallery with a twist! Underthings, like all comedians, are subconsciously determined to make themselves the focus of everything.
- Public Tour: Highlights
WinterPublic Tour: Highlights Join us for a free guided tour exploring some of the highlights of the Gallery's permanent collection. Meet your tour guide in our Courtyard, near the Merrion Square entrance.
- Public Tour: Irish History
WinterPublic Tour: Irish History Join us for a free guided tour exploring Irish history through art in the national collection. Artists documented important moments in history with portraits of key figures and accurate depictions or artistic interpretations of historical events.
- Talk: Daniel Nelis, winner of the AIB Portrait Prize 2025
WinterTalk: Daniel Nelis, winner of the AIB Portrait Prize 2025 Join us for a free public talk with artist Daniel Nelis. The talk will place special emphasis on his work Late Spring, 2025 — an intimate portrait of his wife, Andrea, created in the months leading up to their marriage.
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.
