The power of beauty at the National Gallery of Ireland

Since the gallery reopened after extensive renovations less than two months ago, almost a quarter of a million people have visited the Dublin jewel.
It is, of course, significant that the work of one of the giants of world culture — Dutch master Johannes Vermeer — was chosen as the headline presentation for the months after the gallery re-opened. This may have been inspired programming, but it underlines an eternal truth — beauty has its own power and remains seductive no matter how, or where, or when, it is offered. There must be a lesson in this wonderful success for other institutions, galleries and concert halls, all around the country struggling to attract the number of visitors that guarantee viability and independence.