A £1 million contribution has been made to the National Gallery of Ireland by Mr Martin Naughton and his wife, Carmel. It will help fund the Clare Street extension in Dublin, to be known as the Millennium Wing.
Mr Naughton is a member of the National Gallery of Ireland Foundation and chairman of Glen Dimplex. Mrs Naughton is chairwoman of the board of governors and guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland. A spokesman for the gallery said: "The £1 million was a personal donation and has nothing to do with Glen Dimplex."
The tenders have already come for the project and the board will decide within weeks to whom the contract will go. Yesterday, the director of the gallery, Mr Raymond Keaveney, said Mr and Mrs Naughton had thrown their full support behind the extension programme virtually from its inception.
The chairman of the National Gallery of Ireland Foundation, Mr Peter Barry, commented that the couple's generosity was tangible proof of their personal enthusiasm for the project and their continued interest in, and support for, the arts in Ireland.
Mr Keaveney said plans for the construction of the Millennium Wing were now moving into the final stages. The 44,000 sq ft extension was scheduled for completion in the latter part of next year. It would adjoin the present building, providing a new entrance off Clare Street.
To date the gallery has invested more than £4 million in acquiring and managing the site. A further £5 million has been raised through the private sector towards the cost of construction.
A sum of £7.5 million has been earmarked from the European Regional Development Fund, and the Government has contributed £2 million.
Any balance is being raised through the gallery's development office.
The Millennium Wing was designed by architects Benson and Forsyth and will incorporate up-to-date facilities for exhibitions both national and international. Other features will include a multi-media centre, an audio-visual room, bookshop, restaurant, spacious atrium and winter garden.
The scheme is being managed by the Office of Public Works.
A detailed model of the extension is on public view in the atrium at the National Gallery.