Culture

What cinemas, museums and galleries are reopening – and when?

A wealth of cultural activity resumes all over the country this week as restrictions are eased

Socially distanced cinema

Tanya Sweeney
Tue Dec 1 2020 - 06:00

Cinemas

An unprecedented number of films with Irish interest will be landing as cinemas emerge from Covid hibernation. Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s Wolfwalkers, the latest, beautiful animation from Cartoon Saloon, looks to be propelling the Kilkenny studio towards another Oscar nomination.

Julien Temple’s Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane McGowan offers a portrait of that incorrigible songwriter. Mary McGuckian’s A Girl From Mogadishu dramatises the tale of Somali-Irish activist Ifrah Ahmed’s campaign against female genital mutilation. Finding Jack Charlton is a delightful documentary on an untouchable legend. Barnaby Thompson’s comic thriller Pixie sends Olivia Cooke and Ben Hardy careering through the Irish countryside.

A few cinemas will be giving punters a chance to see David Fincher’s Mank, based around the writing of Citizen Kane, on the big screen before it arrives on Netflix.

The proper beginning of the Christmas season is marked by revivals of such classics as A Muppet Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life and Die Hard. The Light House in Dublin will be showing the new cut of The Godfather Part III – titled Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone – on Saturday night.

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Movies@, movies-at.ie

The cinemas in Dundrum, Dungarvan, Gorey and Swords open on Tuesday, December 1st.

[ ifi.ie ]

The arthouse cinema on Eustace Street in Dublin opens on Tuesday, December 1st.

[ omniplex.ie ]

Most of the chain’s screens – from Cork to Monaghan – will open Friday, December 4th.

[ imccinemas.ie ]

Most of the chain’s screens are expected to open on Friday, December 4th.

[ stellacinemas.ie ]

The luxury screen in Rathmines opens on Tuesday, December 1st.

[ lighthousecinema.ie ]

The space in Smithfield, Dublin will open on Friday, December 4th.

Most other cinemas in Ireland will reopen on Friday. Check listings for any exceptions.

Galleries

The National Gallery of Ireland, 2020. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times

[ nationalgallery.ie ]

Reopens at 9.45am on Tuesday, December 1st, and while the general collection is free to visit, tickets for the Piet Mondrian exhibition (which opens from 5pm on December 1st but is sold out until December 4th) are €10.80 for adults, €9 for seniors and jobseekers, €7.20 for students and free for children.

[ hughlane.ie ]

Reopens at 9.45am on Tuesday, December 1st, and the Lane Legacy exhibition is still in situ, as is the Stained Glass Room and Sean Scully Room. Worlds Without End, an international group exhibition, runs until January 31st. Admission free.

Dr Barbara Dawson, director of the Hugh Lane Gallery, left and Dr Caroline Campbell, director of collections and research, National Gallery London at the opening of The Lane Legacy exhibition at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin in 2020. Photogrph: Damien Eagers / The Irish Times

[ imma.ie ]

Reopens at 11.30am on Tuesday, December 1st, and admission is free but entry is time-slotted and needs to be booked in advance via Imma’s website. Among the current exhibitions are Paula Rego’s retrospective Obedience & Defiance’ a solo exhibition by British Indian Arts Bharti Kher, and photos from the David Kronn collection that examine the conflict in Northern Ireland.

[ crawfordartgallery.ie ]

Reopens at 10am on Tuesday, December 1st, and admission is free. In addition to the gallery’s longstanding collection, visitors can see Citizen Nowhere, an examination of Terence McSwiney’s hunger strike, and Complex States: Art in the Years of Brexit, as well as exhibits from Kevin Gaffney and Harry Clarke.

[ themodel.ie ]

Details of reopening will be announced soon.

[ gluscksman.org ]

Details of the Glucksman’s reopening have yet to be announced.

[ moli.ie ]

Reopens at 10.30am on Tuesday, December 1st. Non-member tickets are €10 for adults, €9 for children and €23 for families (members, frontline healthcare and retail workers are free). Current exhibitions include an exhibition on writer Nuala O’Faolain, a look at the connections between Irish literature and international cities, starting with Paris, and a contemporary commissions gallery featuring a new film work by Alan Gilsenan.

[ rhagallery.ie ]

Reopens on Tuesday, December 1st. Admission is free.

[ douglashydegallery.com ]

The gallery is current installing exhibitions by Yuri Pattison and Steve Bishop, and plan to open “late next week”. Details to be announced.

[ galleryofphotography.ie ]

Bookings for private views recommence on December 1st. To book, contact the gallery via the website or on 01-671 4654. Visitors can then enjoy Love’s Fire Song, a collection by Enda Bowe, complete with a sound installation by Max Cooper.

[ visualcarlow.ie ]

Reopens Thursday December 3rd, and the gallery is asking all visitors to book free tickets online in advance for an allocated 1hr 45min time slot. Booking times are 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Book online or call the box office on 059-9172400.

[ butlergallery.ie ]

Reopens on Wednesday, December 2nd at 10am. Tickets are free but need to be booked in advance. Visit the website or call 056-776 1106. The Butler Gallery Collection exhibition and the O’Malley Collection, featuring works by both Callan artist Tony O’Malley and his wife Jane, are on display.

[ gallery.limerick.ie ]

The gallery reopens on Monday December 7th at 10am. No guest collections will appear at the gallery until February, although the permanent collection is currently on display. Admission is free.

[ regionalculturalcentre.com ]

The cultural centre reopens on December 8th, with a collection of portraits by local artist Phillip Mackey. Admission is free, but should be booked via the website or through 074-912 9186.

[ huntmuseum.com ]

Closed until 2021.

Museums

Epic: The Irish Emigration Museum, in 2019. Photograph: Dave Meehan for The Irish Times.

[ museum.ie ]

Opens on Tuesday, December 1st at 10am. Tickets are free but need to be booked online.

[ museum.ie ]

Opens on Tuesday December 1st at 10am. Tickets are free but need to be booked online at museum.ie.

[ museum.ie ]

Opens on Tuesday December 1st at 10am. Tickets are free but need to be booked online. Kitchen Power: Women’s Experiences of Rural Electrification remains open, as do the exhibitions Life In The Community, Hearth & Home, and Cycling The Country.

[ strokestownpark.ie ]

Closed until further notice (although the house’s woodland park is still open).

[ irishheritage.ie ]

Closed, with reopening date yet to be announced.

[ www.gaa.ie ]

The museum is closed, and no tours are currently operating, until further notice.

[ littlemuseum.ie ]

Opens Tuesday, December 1st at 11am. Tickets can be bought on site or on the website. Standard admission costs from €8. The current temporary exhibition tells you all you need to know about Italia ’90.

[ www.epicchq.com ]

Reopens on Tuesday, December 1st at 10am, albeit with limited numbers and for specific time-slots. Pre-booking tickets isn’t essential, but recommended. Tickets are €16.50 for adults, €10.50 for teens, €15 for seniors/students, and €8 for children (under 5s are free).

[ kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie ]

Details on Kilmainham Gaol’s reopening have yet to be made public.

[ chesterbeatty.ie ]

Reopens Tuesday December 1st at 10am. Admission free, and no booking is required. Permanent exhibitions will be opened.

Artist Maser, whose piece Don’t Be Afraid is part of the Seamus Heaney exhibit Listen Now Again, with Marie Heaney, wife of Seamus Heaney during the opening of the National Library of Ireland exhibition in 2018. Photograph: Gareth Chaney Collins

[ nli.ie ]

The NLI’s Seamus Heaney exhibition at College Green reopens on December 1st at 10am. The library is operating at reduced capacity, but tickets do not need to be booked in advance. The life and works of WB Yeats will open on December 2nd at the Kildare Street site, at 10am, although certain exhibitions, including World War Ireland, remain closed.

[ visitdubin.com ]

Closed, with plans for reopening to be announced soon.

[ tcd.ie ]

Reopens on December 1st at 9.30am, Standard entry is €16, although concession tickets are available for €13 and group bookings can be made from €32. Children under 12 are free. As capacity is limited, it’s best to book online.

[ waxmuseumplus.ie ]

Reopens on December 3rd at 10am. Interested parties can avail of a 10 per cent discount if they book online – adult tickets are €14.85, children’s tickets are €10.35, and family tickets are €40.50.

Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams standing alongside the completed wax figure of himself, at the National wax Museum in Dublin. Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times

[ leprechaunmuseum.ie ]

The museum remains closed until December 11th, when it will open for tours of up to six people at 10am. Tickets for guided tours are €11-16, and can be looked via the website or by calling 01-8733899.

[ galwaycitymuseum.ie ]

The museum has yet to make public its plans for reopening.

[ waterfordtreasures.com ]

The museum reopens on December 3rd at 10am, and offers guided tours on the hour. The permanent exhibition, Heaven’s Embroidered Cloths, remains a museum centrepiece. Tickets are €10 for adult admission and €8 for seniors.