An Irishman's Diary - George Bernard Shaw and the National Gallery of Ireland

In an Irishman's Diary in today's Irish Times, I talk about a unique case of Irish philanthropy. Link to article. Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), was a great fan of the National Gallery of Ireland. He spent many afternoons there as a young man and later credited the institution with having given him an education.

In fact, he was so grateful to the gallery that he left one third of the residual royalties from his estate to them in his will. The money was used to acquire over one hundred pieces of art and in recent years, was used to fund the refurbishment and expansion of the gallery.

Statue of GB Shaw by Prince Paul Troubetzkoy in the National Gallery of Ireland.

The gallery returned the favour by naming the Shaw Room after him. There is also a life size bronze statue of Shaw on display inside the Clare Street entrance. The statue was created in 1927 by Shaw's friend, the Italian sculptor, Prince Paul Troubetzkoy. It used to stand outside the (main) Merrion Square entrance, but was brought inside in recent years. There is some additional information about Shaw's gift  here on the website of the National Gallery of Ireland.