A contentious plan for the future of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham site in Dublin 8 could soon be finalised following progress in talks between the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma).
Representatives from both organisations held a “constructive” meeting about the conservation management plan (CMP) last week.
The plan has been at the centre of heated discussions between the OPW and Imma in recent months amid disagreement over its content. Imma sought legal advice on the matter, saying an earlier version of the plan “entirely” overlooked the museum’s cultural significance.
Ali Curran, chair of Imma’s board, earlier this year said issues between the museum and the OPW had been “escalating for some time” and may require the intervention of Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan.
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Curran made the remarks in a letter to Feargal Ó Coigligh, secretary general at the Department of Culture, in January.
The draft plan, the letter argued, “strays some distance from what may be expected ... into areas of constitutional revision and dilution of Imma as the operator of the site with an emphasis on the strategic repositioning of the OPW, undermining the museum’s mandate”.
In separate correspondence, John McLaughlin, an architect who sits on Imma’s board, said elements of the plan were “at odds” with best practice guidance published by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
The OPW took exception to these remarks. An internal memo, dated April 16th, noted: “Imma state that CMP is not [in] line with best practice, ie ICOMOS principles. This opinion is wholly incorrect.”
Shaffrey Architects was commissioned by the OPW to draft the plan in 2023. The memo said the CMP was “built on best practice, drafted by an internationally recognised architect firm” and the comments were “disparaging and completely unacceptable”.
Representatives from the OPW, Imma and Shaffrey Architects were present at a meeting last Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Imma said “alternative wording” would be suggested for certain sections of the plan later this month, before another meeting will take place.
“We all feel rather confident that this will be finalised before the end of the year,” she said.
A spokeswoman for the OPW said the State body “is working closely with Imma to complete” the plan. She also referred to last week’s meeting as “collegiate and constructive”.
