The 'Dead Zoo' and Crawford Art Gallery close for major works.

Two flagship refurbishment projects by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media see the National Museum of Ireland- Natural History building in Dublin and the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork close their buildings this month.

Delivered under the National Development Plan, Project Ireland 2040, the multi-million euro investments in the historic buildings that house both national cultural institutions will ensure, not only the conservation and protection of the historic buildings that house both museums, but also improved access for future generations.

The Natural History Museum, constructed in 1856 and a magnificent Victorian artefact in its own right, closed on the 02 September 2024.

In 2010, the Museum had to close the upper galleries due to their unsuitability for safe visitor access. From 2020 - 2022, the Museum closed temporarily to facilitate the removal of the whale skeletons suspended from the roof and the packing and removal of 20,000 specimens, and in order to install an internal platform and environmental seal to protect the building and its contents and enable initial investigative works on the roof.

For this next phase, Architects Fitzgerald Kavanagh & Partners have been appointed by the Commissioners of Public Works to lead the integrated design team and initial works will enable the full decant of specimens and commencement of investigative work which will inform the extensive refurbishment required. The full programme of works, duration and total cost of the project will be determined by the investigative works and design phase.

For the period of closure, a new ‘Dead Zoo Lab’ will be created in the Riding School at the National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks site from Spring 2025, ensuring that the public can still visit some favourite specimens such as Spoticus the Giraffe and the Giant Irish Deer, and also some specimens that haven’t been on display for years such as the collection of Blaschka glass models of marine life.

For more information on the refurbishment project, visit the NMI website.

Crawford Art Gallery, home to over 3,500 artworks from the National Collection, will close on the 22nd September 2024 to facilitate the two and a half year redevelopment.

The ambitious redevelopment project, Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, was designed by an interdisciplinary team led by the award-winning Grafton Architects and will be delivered by the Office of Public Works and Crawford Art Gallery.

There are already three centuries of history in its unique city centre buildings, starting with the Customs House wing which was built in 1724. It is as much about conservation and protecting the legacy of the existing building for generations to come as it is about creating exciting new cultural spaces, which include a 50% increase in overall space, a new-build extension to the rear of the building, a new top floor gallery, reorientation of the main entrance, new and improved facilities and access, storage, “Low to Zero Carbon Technologies”.

The entire collection is being carefully moved to secure offsite storage, with each artwork undergoing meticulous condition checks and wrapping to ensure the utmost care for the treasured artworks. Expert conservators will continue to work on care of the collection during the public closure period. It is currently anticipated that the gallery will reopen in 2027.

For more information on the redevelopment project, visit the Crawford Art Gallery website.