Alex Ward, Assistant Keeper in the Art and Industrial Division of the National Museum of Ireland and former curator of the Grand Lodge at Freemasons’ Hall in Dublin, reveals the treasures behind the stately façade of 17 Molesworth Street
The Smurfit Art Collection spans three continents and contains some of the best 20th-century Irish art. Ciaran MacGonical reviews a new catalogue of the collection
Jane Fenlon traces the changing fortunes of the remarkable Ormonde collection, begun in the 17th century by Ireland’s premier patron of the arts and lord lieutenant, James Butler
Peter Murray discusses the contents of Woodhill, the luxurious home of Cooper Penrose, a Quaker with patrician tastes
Adriann E Waiboer discusses an unusual work from the oeuvre of 17th-century Dutch artist Aelbert Cuyp recently acquired for the National Gallery
George Bernard Shaw’s gift to the National Gallery dramatically increased its buying power; Peter Somerville-Large recalls its investment by subsequent directors
Fiona Kearney traces the artistic lineage of Paul Seawright’s Woman and Child, an enduring image of maternal stoicism
Seventeen paintings by AE Russell, a collection of portraits by Estella Solomons and literary papers from writer Seamas O’Sullivan, form the core of a valuable bequest to Trinity College Dublin, that is testimony to an enduring friendship, writes Riann Coulter
The Niland Gallery in Sligo is fortunate in having an impressive collection of paintings by Jack B Yeats. But shouldn’t the focus on this illustrious native son be increased still further, asks Brian Harten?
Brendan Rooney evaluates George Collie’s genre scene, a gritty exception to the mainstay of the artist’s practice
Hugh Maguire selects Tim’s Hat by Camille Souter from the Hunt Museum’s current exhibition
Eamonn McEneaney selects The Dragon Mirrors designed by Thomas Johnson, from the Bishop’s Palace Collection, Waterford
William Laffan selects a pair of Louis XV corner cupboards recently returned to Castletown
Alec Cobbe selects the earliest known steeplechase trophy from the Newbridge House Collection
Arthur MacGregor selects an ostrich egg cup from the Cobbe Collection
Jill Unkel selects a plate from Journal des Dames et des Modes from the Chester Beatty Collection
Peater Pearson visits Waterford’s Medieval Museum which completes the trilogy of cultural venues celebrating the historic city’s material culture
Sean Rainbird selects Flanders Fields by William Crozier, a new acquisition for the National Galllery of Ireland
Eamonn McEneaney selects medieval documents recently acquired by Waterford Museum of Treasures
Raymund Ryan visits Château la Coste, a stylish fusion of outdoor contemporary art and working vineyard, set within the natural beauty of Provence
Hugh Maguire selects a medieval stained-glass panel from the collection of the Hunt Museum, Limerick
Peter Murray selects a landscape by John Luke, a recent donation to the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork
Angela Griffith and Philip McEvansoneya discuss some highlights from an exhibition celebrating Irish artists’ engagement with publishing in the period 1830–1930.
Through the ambition of its fellows, legal entitlement and generous bequests, the Old Library, Trinity College Dublin has amassed a world-famous collection, writes Charles Benson in celebration of its tercentenary.
Jennifer Goff selects Sasha Sykes’ contemporary screen inspired by Eileen Gray’s original
The contents of Ireland’s greatest country house have been assiduously catalogued in a new publication, but what of the unique pastels by Robert Healy that captured the Conollys at leisure, asks John Mulcahy.
Jennifer Goff describes the cultural background to the newly opened 19th-century music room, part of a new ensemble of historic room displays at the National Museum of Ireland
Marianne O’Kane-Boal selects Still Life by Mary Ruth Walsh from Wexford County Council’s art collection
Inez J Fletcher selects an illuminated page from a Gaelic manuscript from the collection of the National Library of Ireland
Griffin Murray selects a zoomorphic penannular brooch from the collection of the Kerry County Museum
Alexandra Caccamo chooses some examples of exceptional botanical art bequeathed to the National Botanic Gardens by irascible horticulturalist William Edward Gumbleton.
David J Griffin selects an engraving, after a design by James Gandon, illustrating Edward Smyth’s stucco work for the Four Courts from the collection of the Irish Architectural Archive
Muriel McCarthy selects two related engravings from the current medical exhibition at Marsh’s Library, Dublin.
Catherine Giltrap recalls the dynamic influence of George Dawson in initiating the Modern and contemporary art collection at TCD 50 years ago.
Conleth Manning investigates a valuable 19th-century record of Irish round towers now believed to be in the USA.
The American Roth family were drawn to Ireland by an admiration for W B Yeats and remained to create a home and art collection; Peter Murray recalls their journey
Fionnuala Croke selects a painting attributed to Juan Do from the collection at the National Gallery of Ireland.
Christina Kennedy selects a work by Philippe Parreno from the collection at IMMA
Peter Harbison discusses the little-known art collection of the Royal Irish Academy, which documents a number of its eminent members
Antony Gormley’s solitary figure has become a central presence at the University of Limerick, writes Catherine Lawless
Virginia Teehan selects an 11th century Syrian Raqqan bowl from the collection at the Hunt Museum
Sphere within Sphere, newly gleaming and back on the podium of the Berkeley Library, is discussed by Catherine Giltrap, Curator of the Trinity College Art Collections
Mirjam Foot selects a number of prime examples of 18th-century bindings collected by bibliophile Benjamin Guinness, the ownership of whose library was recently transferred to Marsh’s Library, Dublin
Shan McAnena recalls the glittering careers of two Ulstermen whose paths converged thousands of miles from their birthplace
paul Caffrey gives a thumbnail sketch of 18th-century society drawn from the worlds of art, academia and the stage, as seen in the Comerford Collection
Hector McDonnell investigates the locations and sporting personalities associated with Glenarm Castle’s collection of 18th-century racehorse paintings.
Peter Harbison presents some little-known gems by George Victor Du Noyer, from the library of the Royal Irish Academy.
Hilary Pyle looks at the archive of papers and sketchbooks belonging to Estella Solomons preserved in the Manuscript Department of Trinity College Dublin
Peter Somerville Large explores the exotic art of the Pacific, originating with Captain Cook’s voyages in the region, held today in the National Museum of Ireland
Eamonn McEneaney examines a rare 14th-century Madonna Lactans from the collection of Waterford Museum of Treasures
From the renovation of the Shaw Room to the momentous rediscovery of a masterpiece, Sergio Bendetti recalls his career, spanning three decades, at the National Gallery of Ireland
Paul Caffrey explores a remarkable collection of Irish miniatures which provide a visual history of the family of the Earls of Shannon of Castle Martyr, County Cork
Charles Horton discusses two contrasting, yet intimate portrayals of the birth of a child from a 16th-century prayer book
Van Gogh’s Rooftops in Paris is a transitional work, showing early signs of his later, signature brushwork, argues Adriaan E Waiboer
In 1869, Henry Doyle became the second Director of the fledgling National Gallery, Anne Hodge recalls his initiatives in shaping the first-class collection on view today
The National Self-Portrait Collection is a visual record of the exciting range of styles and approach employed by over 400 artists, writes James Hanley in this review of Volume 2
Drogheda’s key position in the 18th-century is reflected in a pair of views of the town, by Neopolitan artist Gabriele Ricciardelli, explains Nick Reilly
A lack of exhibition space and restricted budgets dog many museums, not least Ireland’s National Museum whose African artefacts Peter Somerville-Large recalls last viewing as a schoolboy
Simone Mancini and Adrian Le Harivel select a painting from the Care of the Collection display at the National Gallery of Ireland
Pat Donlon pays tribute to the bibliophile whose private collection furnished the newly founded National Library in 1877
Karen Mullaney-Oignam reveals the extent of the Bryce family collection as their former home on Garinish Island, County Cork opens to the public this summer
Eimear O’Connor selects Sean Keating’s Wagon Train at Ardnacrusha from the ESB Collection
Donal Maguire selects an illustrated letter, written by Walter Osborne, from the ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art
Elizabeth Willms tracks the fate of a lost series of paintings from their original setting in Rathfarnham Castle to their sale in New York
Conleth Manning considers the evidence for authorship of some missing watercolours
A new addition to the wide array of decorative arts to be seen at Castletown will further enhance its integrated appeal, writes William Laffan
William Shortall selects Clonfinloch by Hilary Heron, from the collection of Failte Ireland
Eamonn McEneaney selects Blaise Smith’s View of Waterford 2016 from the collection of Waterford City Hall
Putting Irish arts in context has been a principal aim of our collecting mission at the John J Burns Library, Boston, writes Christian Dupont
Resplendent in its latest reconstruction, the National Gallery of Ireland needs a new and inspiring ‘Mission’ that places Irish art and artists at the centre of its activities, argues John Mulcahy
Eamonn P Kelly evaluates the recent find of gold coins in County Tipperary now on display at the National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks
Peter Murray examines the shifts in fortune surrounding the magnificent suite of paintings by the Guardi brothers brought to Ireland by the Earl of Bantry
William Laffan previews the exhibition ‘Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design 1690-1840′ which opens at the Art Institute of Chicago in March
Anne Hodge and Peter Harbison examine the visual evidence of Daniel O’Connell’s unusual conditions of imprisonment in the Richmond Bridewell, Dublin
Cosmopolitan yet connected to local issues, Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt played a prominent role in promoting Ireland’s cultural institutions at a pivotal time in their early history, writes Philip McEvansoneya
Muirne Lydon reveals the original brilliance of Murillo’s Prodigal Son as degraded varnish and old restorations are painstakingly removed from the 17th-century series at the National Gallery of Ireland