Dublin's Natural History Museum is to shut for a major refurbishment.
Affectionately known at the "Dead Zoo", the building on Merrion Place will close in September.
The Natural History Museum says the work is needed to ensure that that the 168 year-old building is protected, conserved, and made accessible for future generations.
In 2020 the museum closed to allow whale skeletons suspended from the roof to be removed and to install an internal platform and environmental seal to protect the dead zoo and its contents.
Since the museum reopened two years ago only the ground floor has been available to the public.
It's unclear how long the building will be shut for with the full programme of works, duration and total cost of the project "to be determined by the investigative works and design phase."
A new "Dead Zoo Lab" is to open at the National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks during the closure.
