Irish Museum of Modern Art

Irish art collector Gordon Lambert met with Taoiseach Charles Haughey and "told him if the State would establish a gallery he would donate his collection." The Irish Museum of Modern Art was established by the Government of Ireland in 1990. It was officially opened on 25 May 1991 by Haughey. Its first Director was Declan McGonagle, who served for 10 years. He was followed by Enrique Juncosa, and then Sarah Glennie. Annie Fletcher has been Director since 2018.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art is housed in the 17th-century Royal Hospital Kilmainham. The Royal Hospital was founded in 1684 by James Butler, the Duke of Ormonde and Viceroy to Charles II, as a home for retired soldiers and continued in that use for almost 250 years. The Royal Hospital is a striking location for displaying modern art. Designed by Sir William Robinson and modelled on Les Invalides in Paris, it is arranged around a courtyard and the interior has long corridors running along series of modest interlocking rooms. The original stables have been restored, extended and converted into artists' studios, and the museum runs an artist-in-residence programme. Originally there was another option to build a new purpose-built museum in Dublin's docklands, but the Hospital proved to be the more pragmatic choice at the time, however "over the years... the lack of a large exhibition space has on occasion been a drawback." Additionally, the Royal Hospital lacked adequate storage and by 2003 up to 20 national and international works were discovered to be badly damaged by "humidity and temperature fluctuations". The Office of Public Works assisted in finding and relocating the bulk of the collection in off-site warehouses, and even a storage container in the museum's car park.

IMMA hosts the annual Earth Rising Festival, which celebrates art, ecology and ideas related to planetary crises and brings together influential voices from across arts, science, academia, design, law, media, research and education. The inaugural event was held in September 2023. The 2025 Earth Rising Festival is due to take place from 12 to 14 September 2025 inspired by the theme Staying with the Trouble, based on Donna Haraway's influential text. Contributors for 2025 include Sean McCabe, Fionnuala Moran, Easkey Britton, The Climate Alarm Clock Podcast, Mohammed Syfkhan and Professor John Barry.

The museum is a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital. The company is funded by grant-in-aid through the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and by sponsorship, franchise and own resource income. In addition to state grant-in-aid and commercial revenues, the museum has faced ongoing financial challenges related to legacy pension scheme liabilities and staff superannuation costs. Public financial disclosures and Oireachtas reports have highlighted that statutory pension commitments for retired personnel are funded on a pay-as-you-go basis through central Departmental allocations, periodically requiring supplementary Exchequer funding to address operational deficits and pay-and-pension shortfalls. In January, IMMA chairwoman Ali Curran wrote to Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan warning that the museum faced a funding deficit to pay its pensioners during the year, after receiving €45,000 from the Government despite requesting €321,000 to cover projected retirements, leaving a €275,000 shortfall.