The National Gallery of Ireland,
Merion Square West,
Dublin 2,
Ireland.
Some of Ireland best collections of Art can be found in the National Gallery of Ireland and it’s why we’d recommend visiting this building to be marvelled by the World renowned exhibitions that take place here. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended the National Gallery but I loved it so much it’s stayed very clear in my memory. Which is what we want for you when you visit Ireland.
The Gallery is open 7 days a week and the staff are extremely enthusiastic about everything on show.
The opening times are:
| Days of the Week | Open Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday – Saturday (including public holidays)* | 9.15am – 5.30pm |
| Thursday | 9.15am – 8.30pm |
| Sunday | 11am – 5.30pm |
How to get to the National Gallery
When you arrive in Dublin just click the view larger map above on your phone select go select directions from your current location. You should turn location ‘on’ when you’re using your smart phone. It’s very easy to find though, even without Google maps. It’s behind Trinity College Dublin, just before you get to Merrion Square. You should check out the fantastic reviews it gets.
After we left the Gallery we headed over to Cafe En Seine. We’d highly recommend some grub and a cheeky cocktail here. It was a lovely place to eat, drink and have a chat about everything we saw at the Gallery. It was only a 10 minute walk and we walked very slow.
Sinead’s Thoughts
Today I wanted to do something a little different and share with you all one of my favorite Irish paintings. The Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Sir Frederick Burton.
Frederick William Burton was born in Co. Wicklow, Ireland in 1816 and later moved to London where he died in 1900. Burton famously worked along side George Petrie, a renowned Irish Archaeologist. Together they worked on many sketches of Archaeological sites in Ireland. Burton was also a member of The Archaeological Society of Ireland and The Royal Irish Academy. In 1874 he became the Director of the National Gallery, London.
The Meeting On The Turret Stairs is a beautiful watercolor that seems to show us a private moment of sorrow in the lives of 2 ill-fated lovers from very different worlds in Medieval Ireland. The pair are caught in an embrace on the stairs of a Medieval Tower.
It is assumed that the painting depicts an Irish Princess and possibly her bodyguard, with whom she had fallen in love. The match would have been frowned upon, and the Lord ordered his sons kill his daughter’s lover. The image stirs up feelings of sadness and pity, and seems to be wrapped up in a world that would have depicted the Knight as forever loyal and chivalrous. This painting shows them wrapped in their final embrace before his death. Burton was inspired by a Danish Ballad, that told of this ill-fated tale.
This magnificent work of Art was voted Irelands favorite painting in 2012. The Meeting On The Turret Stairs is on view at the National Gallery of Ireland.