Taoiseach defends €93m cost of redeveloping Cork's Crawford Gallery 

Micheál Martin said the iconic gallery project was 'of a different scale from what was originally conceived in 2013'

Junior minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and culture minister Patrick O’Donovan at the launch of the Crawford Art Gallery redevelopment project in Cork City on Friday. Picture: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has defended massive cost increases at Cork City’s Crawford Gallery as he officially launched the €93m redevelopment of the iconic building.

Described as a “once in a multi-generation investment by the State”, it is one of the biggest National Development Plan projects of its kind.

Last month, culture minister Patrick O'Donovan told ministers the full €93.1m capital cost of the project includes Vat and a provision for contingency.

In advance of the redevelopment, Mr O'Donovan told ministers that €6.5m has already been spent to date on preparatory works on designs, plans, and removing valuable items from the gallery, which was built by brewing magnate William Horatio Crawford in 1884.

An original estimate of €28.86m was arrived at in 2020, prior to the planning and design phase, and the project has changed substantially since then, ministers were told.

Crawford Art Gallery director Mary McCarthy at the unveiling in October 2024 of new artworks acquired by the national institution including works by Seán Keating: Elijah with the Ravens, Version II (1930) and his self-portrait (c 1961), alongside the gallery’s 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

Asked about the completion date being pushed back and costs tripling, Mr Martin said the fact that the project was “of a different scale from what was originally conceived in 2013” is the “more fundamental point”.

Speaking after the official launch, he said: “Construction inflation has gone up significantly. In my own view, that’s when decisions are required.

We’ve 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.

“This is essential artistic infrastructure in the city of Cork, we can’t leave it as an empty shell, that would be unthinkable.”

Mr O’Donovan, who was also at the launch at the gallery in Cork’s city centre, said: “I am delighted that, as the only national cultural institution located entirely outside of Dublin, implementation of the Crawford Art Gallery redevelopment can now begin.

“My 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.”

Crawford Art Gallery chair Rose McHugh said: “This is a very significant moment in the history of Crawford Art Gallery.

“The ambitious redevelopment will ensure the gallery remains at the heart of the cultural life of Cork and Ireland for generations to come. “

Crawford Art Gallery director Mary McCarthy said: “This is an exciting moment for everyone who loves Crawford Art Gallery.

“The actual start on site of this redevelopment marks the beginning of a new and exciting chapter — one that will deliver renewed and expanded spaces for visitors, artists, and future generations to enjoy and be inspired by.

“We are ambitious for Cork, the region, and the impact that culture can contribute.”