Michael Moynihan: Why has the Crawford Art Gallery project ballooned from €30m to €93m?

The Crawford’s redevelopment matters, but a year-long delay and tripled costs expose a deeper problem in public project planning

(Left to right) Rose McHugh, chair of the Crawford Art Gallery; minister of state Kevin 'Boxer' Moran; Taoiseach Micheál Martin; Mary McCarthy, director of the Crawford Art Gallery; minister Patrick O'Donovan and Yvonne Farrell of Grafton Architects at the launch of the Crawford Art Gallery redevelopment last month. Picture: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

The Crawford Art Gallery is currently closed for renovation work, as many readers probably know already.

It shut down in September 2024 for the works, and ‘renovation’ is probably an understatement. As Sarah Horgan reported then, those works will “add 50% more space for storage and exhibitions. A five-storey extension will be added to the building and a new restaurant will be built too.