Irish Museum of Modern Art
Ireland's modern and contemporary art collection, in the 17th-century Royal Hospital Kilmainham.
The Irish Museum of Modern Art, usually known as IMMA, is Ireland's national institution for modern and contemporary art. It opened in 1991 in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, a building begun in 1680 to designs by the Surveyor General William Robinson as a home for retired soldiers and modelled on Les Invalides in Paris. The conversion to gallery use was carried out by Shay Cleary Architects, and the museum stands in about 48 acres of grounds.
The collection has grown from almost nothing to several thousand works by Irish and international artists, shown in rotating displays alongside a temporary exhibition programme. The site includes the formal gardens, a meadow, the Deputy Master's House, the baroque chapel and the Great Hall. IMMA also runs an artists' residency programme in the former coach house and stable yards, together with talks, film screenings and a broad learning programme. Admission is free.
Highlights
- Housed in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham of 1680-84
- National collection of modern and contemporary art
- Baroque chapel and Great Hall in the historic building
- Formal gardens, meadow and 48 acres of grounds
