Irish Museum of Modern Art

Over het museum

The Irish Museum of Modern Art, usually called IMMA, is housed in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, which is regarded as the finest seventeenth-century building in Ireland. The hospital was founded in 1684 by James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, as a home for retired soldiers and kept this role for almost 250 years. Its formal façade and large courtyard were modelled on Les Invalides in Paris. In 1922 the building passed to the Irish Free State, and from 1930 to 1950 it served as a police headquarters before falling into disrepair.

The government restored the building in the 1980s, and IMMA opened there in May 1991 as Ireland’s first museum of contemporary art. It looks after the Irish national collection of modern and contemporary art, which it shares and develops through exhibitions, a residency programme, talks and learning projects for families, schools and communities.

The museum’s programme is not limited to the galleries. It also uses the 48 acres of the site, which include formal gardens, meadows and the former hospital grounds, where works from the collection are displayed outdoors. Admission to the museum and to most exhibitions is free. A café in the cellars of the main building and a coffee truck in the courtyard serve visitors, and the IMMA shop is on the first floor.

Hoogtepunten

• Free entry to the museum and most exhibitions
• Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the oldest classical building in Ireland
• Irish national collection of modern and contemporary art
• Formal gardens, meadows and an outdoor artwork trail
• Fruition café, shop and free wifi in the main building

Opgericht

1991

Beheerder

Irish Museum of Modern Art (national cultural institution)

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

De toegang is gratis.

Admission to the museum is free, and entry to most exhibitions is also free. All exhibitions are free for under-18s. The formal gardens are free to enter. Parking on site is charged.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The site and all buildings are accessible, with lifts in every building, adapted toilets and baby changing facilities in the main building and elsewhere. Manual wheelchairs can be borrowed first come, first served, and Blue Badge parking is close to the main entrance. The site is large, so there are walking distances between buildings. Adult and child sensory bags with ear defenders, a torch, fidget toys and activity sheets can be borrowed at reception. On the first Friday of each month the Azure programme offers free tours for people living with dementia and their carers, with tea or coffee afterwards; booking is essential.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Kinderwagenvriendelijk
• Verschoonruimte

All exhibitions are free for under-18s. There are family workshops (Explorer), a Look, No Cows trail for families through the grounds, lifts in every building and room for pushchairs in most exhibitions, plus baby changing facilities and an outdoor coffee truck with space for picnics. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The main entrance is on Military Road; a pedestrian-only entrance on the South Circular Road faces Kilmainham Gaol. IMMA is a 30 to 40 minute walk from the city centre and about a 12-minute drive from St Stephen’s Green. Visitors approaching from the west on the N4 cannot turn right onto Military Road.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel
• Wifi

Free wifi is available in the main building on the “Virgin” network; the first time a device connects it must be registered for 30 minutes of access, which can be renewed. Fruition is a café in the cellars of the main building, reached by lifts, with a coffee truck in the courtyard. The IMMA shop on the first floor sells art books, prints, design items and children’s toys.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur

Venue hire is offered on the historic site; details are on the museum’s venue hire pages.

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