{"id":230268,"date":"2025-12-13T03:17:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T03:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/230268\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T03:17:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T03:17:16","slug":"taoiseach-defends-e93m-cost-of-redeveloping-corks-crawford-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/230268\/","title":{"rendered":"Taoiseach defends \u20ac93m cost of redeveloping Cork’s Crawford Gallery\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has defended massive cost increases at Cork City\u2019s Crawford Gallery<\/a> as he officially launched the \u20ac93m redevelopment of the iconic building.<\/p>\n

Described as a \u201conce in a multi-generation investment by the State\u201d, it is one of the biggest National Development Plan projects of its kind.<\/p>\n

Last month, culture minister Patrick O’Donovan told ministers<\/a> the full \u20ac93.1m capital cost of the project includes Vat and a provision for contingency.<\/p>\n

In advance of the redevelopment, Mr O’Donovan told ministers that \u20ac6.5m has already been spent to date on preparatory works on designs, plans, and removing valuable items from the gallery<\/a>, which was built by brewing magnate William Horatio Crawford in 1884.<\/p>\n

An original estimate of \u20ac28.86m was arrived at in 2020, prior to the planning and design phase, and the project has changed substantially since then, ministers were told. <\/p>\n

\"CrawfordCrawford Art Gallery director Mary McCarthy\u00a0at the unveiling in October 2024 of new artworks acquired by the national institution including works by Se\u00e1n Keating: Elijah with the Ravens, Version II (1930) and his self-portrait (c 1961), alongside the gallery\u2019s previously-acquired work by the same artist ‘Men of the South’, depicting members of the North Cork Brigade during the War of Independence. Picture: Joleen Cronin<\/p>\n

Asked about the completion date being pushed back and costs tripling, Mr Martin said the fact that the project was \u201cof a different scale from what was originally conceived in 2013\u201d is the \u201cmore fundamental point\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking after the official launch, he said: \u201cConstruction inflation has gone up significantly. In my own view, that\u2019s when decisions are required.<\/p>\n

\n We\u2019ve taken the right decision to get on with this, get it done, because if we postpone or delay, one thing is inevitable: the cost will go up even higher.\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is essential artistic infrastructure in the city of Cork, we can\u2019t leave it as an empty shell, that would be unthinkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Donovan, who was also at the launch at the gallery in Cork\u2019s city centre, said: \u201cI am delighted that, as the only national cultural institution located entirely outside of Dublin, implementation of the Crawford Art Gallery redevelopment can now begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Department, along with the Office of Public Works and the Crawford Art Gallery have been working towards this day for many years, so it was with great satisfaction that I recently approved the awarding of the contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crawford Art Gallery<\/a> chair Rose McHugh said: \u201cThis is a very significant moment in the history of Crawford Art Gallery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ambitious redevelopment will ensure the gallery remains at the heart of the cultural life of Cork and Ireland for generations to come. \u201c<\/p>\n

Crawford Art Gallery director Mary McCarthy said: \u201cThis is an exciting moment for everyone who loves Crawford Art Gallery. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe actual start on site of this redevelopment marks the beginning of a new and exciting chapter \u2014 one that will deliver renewed and expanded spaces for visitors, artists, and future generations to enjoy and be inspired by.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are ambitious for Cork, the region, and the impact that culture can contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has defended massive cost increases at Cork City\u2019s Crawford Gallery as he officially launched the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[781,102921,123082,9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5765,5,7,8,14656],"class_list":{"0":"post-230268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-cork-news","9":"tag-crawford-art-gallery","10":"tag-war-of-independence","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breakingnews","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-featured-news","15":"tag-featurednews","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-latest-news","20":"tag-latestnews","21":"tag-main-news","22":"tag-mainnews","23":"tag-micheal-martin","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-top-stories","26":"tag-topstories","27":"tag-visual-art"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115710096357975389","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}