Crawford Art Gallery

This gallery in central Cork holds one of Ireland's most important collections of visual art, ranging from Irish and European paintings to sculpture and contemporary work. It occupies a red-brick building that began as the city's Custom House in the eighteenth century before being extended as a school of art. A celebrated group of plaster casts of classical sculptures, sent from the Vatican in the 1810s, remains a highlight. Admission to the collection is free, and the gallery hosts regular exhibitions and events.