A new exhibition showcasing six* of Harry Clarke’s stained-glass panels, including some of his earliest known works, opened on the 5 December, 2024. The exhibition – Harry Clarke’s-Stained Glass - will run for at least two years, when the Crawford Art Gallery is anticipated to reopen.

A special collaboration between the National Museum and Crawford Art Gallery, the exhibition brings together panels not previously displayed in the same place before. 

Three of the panels have travelled to the National Museum from the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork as it closes for its ambitious redevelopment project, ‘Transforming Crawford Art Gallery’.

Harry Clarke (1889 – 1931) is one of Ireland’s most renowned stained-glass artists and illustrators. His work is celebrated internationally for its originality of design and impressive technical skill, not least in Ireland where his work is present in 16 counties, mostly in churches.

The panels on display in Harry Clarke’s-Stained Glass each reveal Clarke’s distinct vision, inviting visitors into the world of religious and fantastical imagery that defined his career. They include:

• The Consecration of St. Mel, Bishop of Longford, by St. Patrick (1910)
• The Meeting of St. Brendan with the Unhappy Judas (1911)
• The Godhead Enthroned (1911)
• The Unhappy Judas (1913)
• A Meeting (1918)
• Richard Mulcahy (c. 1925)
• Harlequin (c.1914)

*April 2026 - we are delighted to welcome a new addition to our Harry Clarke: Stained Glass room at Collins Barracks.

Clarke's Harlequin (c.1914) is an intricate portrayal of the title character playing a stringed instrument and wearing an elaborate yellow and black costume with decorative cuffs. The glass panel is kindly on loan to the Museum for two years by Bruce Yates and is on public display for the first time since 1979.