Housed in former 17th-century Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Kilmainham is Ireland's finest contemporary art collection, with 1600 works including pieces by Damien Hirst. Temporary exhibitions can include sculptures in the courtyard.
Opened in May 1991, the main galleries are housed in the old Royal Hospital, one of Dublin's most important 17th-century buildings. James Butler, Viceroy to Charles II, had the hospital designed by William Robinson for retired soldiers, along the lines of Paris' Les Invalides. Soldiers continued to live there until 1927. It boasts a baroque formal garden and a fantastic courtyard with arcades down three of the walls, as well as a medieval burial ground.