Nano Nagle Place

About the museum

Nano Nagle Place stands on a triangular site off Douglas Street that has been linked to the Nagle family since the eighteenth century. Honora "Nano" Nagle, born in 1718 into a wealthy Catholic family, set up secret schools for poor children in Cork at a time when the Penal Laws made Catholic education illegal. By the time she died in 1784 she was running seven schools, had opened an almshouse and had founded the Presentation Sisters. She is buried in the site's old graveyard.

The oldest building on the campus is the convent that Nano had built in 1771 for the Ursuline Sisters. It passed to the Presentation Sisters in the 1820s, who stayed on the site for nearly two hundred years, adding a Gothic Revival chapel designed by George Goldie in 1865 and other buildings. A conservation and redevelopment project led by Jack Coughlan Architects, which began in 2014, reopened the complex as a public heritage centre with restored historic buildings, walled gardens, a modern garden café and a shop.

The museum is housed in the restored chapel and uses multimedia displays, objects, letters and documents to explain Nano Nagle's life, daily life and poverty in eighteenth-century Cork, and the work of the Presentation Sisters in Ireland and abroad. Guided visits also include the 1771 convent with Miss Nagle's Parlour and the Relics Room. The site also hosts community projects, a migrant centre, events and a gallery space.

Highlights

• Interactive museum in the restored Goldie chapel on Nano Nagle's life and 18th-century Cork
• Guided tour through the 1771 convent with Miss Nagle's Parlour and the Relics Room
• Free walled gardens, historic graveyard and Nano Nagle's tomb
• Sensory kits and a visual museum guide for neurodivergent visitors
• Garden café and a gift shop with Cork-made products

Permanent exhibition

• Nano Nagle Place museum – An interactive museum in the restored chapel telling the story of Nano Nagle, 18th-century Cork and the Presentation Sisters through multimedia displays, letters and objects.

Operated by

South Presentation Centre CLG

Admission & discounts

The 3.5-acre site, the walled gardens and Nano Nagle's tomb are free to visit; tickets are only needed for the museum.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The site is described as fully wheelchair accessible. Sensory kits are available in the museum, and a visual museum guide (social story) for neurodivergent children can be downloaded. Assistance dogs must be accredited and wear an assistance dog jacket.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

The museum is designed to appeal to younger visitors, with a family ticket, school tours, sensory kits and a visual guide for children who find new places hard.

Getting there & parking

The centre is on Douglas Street, two blocks south of the south channel of the River Lee. Douglas Street is one-way, so drivers should approach from the Barrack Street direction or turn sharply right from Evergreen Road.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Good Day Deli (Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 16:00) and Nádúr Deli (Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 16:00) operate on site. The gift shop is open during museum hours.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Meeting and event spaces for conferences, away days, workshops and community events; evening and weekend hire costs extra, and all spaces are wheelchair accessible.

Plan your visit