Appointment of new Chair and two new members to the Board of the National Museum of Ireland

Professor Cathal O'Donoghue appointed as new Chair to the Board of the National Museum of Ireland (NMI); Rowena Neville and Suzanne Costello appointed as Board members.

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, T.D. has today (25 January 2024) announced the appointment of Professor Cathal O'Donoghue as the new Chair of the Board of the National Museum of Ireland. The appointment is for the period up to July 2026.

Prof. O'Donoghue was initially appointed to the Board in 2021 and is a highly experienced economist and statistician. Since 2016 Prof. O'Donoghue has been the Established Chair of Social and Public Policy, at the University of Galway. From 2016-2020, he held the role of Dean of Arts and Social Sciences. He was previously Head of the Rural Economy and Development Programme at Teagasc, the national body providing integrated research, advisory and training services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities. He was a member of the Fund Council of CGIAR, a $1 billion a year International Agri-Food Research organisation, from 2014-2016.

Since 2021 he has been Chair of the Foundation Board of the RDS. He is Chair of Burren Lowlands CLG, and a member of the Board of Music for Galway, Burren Beo and the International Microsimulation Association.

He holds post graduate degrees from Oxford, UCD, the LSE, and Warwick. His PhD is in Social Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The Minister has also recently appointed two new ordinary members to the Board, Rowena Neville and Suzanne Costello.

Rowena Neville leads Blue Line Consulting, working with clients across business, public sector, arts and culture, academia, and non-profit sectors. Ms. Neville has worked with organisations locally and internationally to devise and implement solutions to address a range of business challenges including broadening diversity, social inclusion, institutional and organisational sustainability, and measuring impact.

Suzanne Costello is CEO of the Institute of Public Health in Ireland since 2018. Throughout her career, Suzanne has been involved in strategy, communications and policy development work in Ireland and the UK in the not-for-profit and public sectors.

Suzanne has a primary degree is in Social Science from University College Dublin, a Master's in Business Studies, and a Diploma in Strategy, Innovation and Change, from the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, UCD.

Speaking today Minister Martin said:

"I congratulate Cathal on his appointment and I wish him well as he steps up to this exciting role. He is already serving on the Board and comes to the position of Chair with significant past experience in leadership, economics, and social policy. I have confidence that he will lead the Board effectively in providing oversight to the National Museum of Ireland and its executive team, headed by Lynn Scarff. I look forward to seeing the NMI continue and grow as a prominent and historic national cultural institution."

The Minister added:

"I also wish to congratulate Rowena and Suzanne on their appointment as Board members. They each bring considerable knowledge and experience to their roles and I they will be a significant addition to the Board of the National Museum of Ireland."

NOTES TO EDITORS

The National Museum of Ireland (NMI) is responsible for collecting and preserving objects and knowledge relating to the history and culture of Ireland and its place in the wider world.

The National Museum of Ireland was established as an independent body on 3 May 2005 under the provisions of the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997 with a Board and a Director (Chief Executive).

The purpose of the National Museum of Ireland is to:

• Collect, preserve, promote and exhibit all examples of Ireland's portable material heritage and natural history.

• Interpret and promote the collections and make them accessible to audiences at home and abroad.

• Maintain the lead role in education, research and scholarship pertaining to the collections and their contexts.

The collections held by the National Museum of Ireland provide a vital connection to the shared and individual past, creating, supporting and strengthening an articulation of individual and national pride, while providing a unique and authentic resource to inspire learning, creativity and engaging visitor experiences.

Further information on the National Museum of Ireland can be found on www.museum.ie .