Dublin - Irish Museum of Modern Art

Going towards Dublin along Kilmainham Lane and turning left into Military Road, we come to the main entrance of the Royal Hospital which today houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The building was erected between 1680 and 1687 by Sir William Robinson "for maimed and infirm officers and soldiers." No costs were spared in the 1980s when the classical building, in French-Dutch style, was restored.

The Great Hall, with many portraits of kings and viceroys, is now used for banquets and conferences. Of particular interest in the chapel are the wood carving and the Baroque stucco ceiling (a copy of the original destroyed in 1902). Some rooms have been furnished in their original style; others have been enlarged to provide exhibition space for the Irish Museum of Modern Art which occupied the new premises in 1991 and can now present in a worthy setting Irish and international art of the 20th C.