Willam Dargan was contracted to build Ireland's first railway line: the Dublin to Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) line, and many other Irish railways following the success of that project. Dargan almost single-handedly financed the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1853, an exhibition which included a showing of the work of many art masters. 

A committee, formed to commemorate the munificence of Dargan, agreed that an Irish National Gallery would be a fitting testimonial for Dargan. The committee donated £5,000 to the founding of such an Irish Institution. Built as a copy of the neighbouring Natural History Museum, the Gallery opened in 1864 – on the same day that Dargan's statue in the front lawn, sculpted by Thomas Farrell, was unveiled.

Photo: Dargan Statue outside the National Gerrly of Ireland, Merrion Sq.

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