Four new members to join the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland

The four appointees will support the operations of the National Gallery of Ireland for the coming five years

Government has today announced the appointment of Dr Michelle D. Cullen, Margie McCarthy, Dr Sandra Collins and Adrian O’Carroll to the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI).

Speaking today, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media congratulated the four appointees, stating that they have a “diversity of experience”.

“I wish to congratulate all four appointees and thank them for taking on these important roles. I wish them the very best during their terms,” Martin said.

The four appointees will support the operations of the National Gallery of Ireland for the coming five years.

Ms Mary Keane, Chairperson of the NGI Board of Governors and Guardians, joined Martin in congratulating the appointees, saying that they will “bring a breadth of additional skills and governance experience to the Gallery as we concentrate on developing our next Strategic Plan and enabling our important work over the coming years”.

The selectees come from a variety of backgrounds, including engineering, libraries, and finance.

Dr Michelle D Cullen is the Managing Director and board member of Accenture International and the company’s Head of Inclusion and Diversity. Cullen was named Woman of the Year at the 2018 Women in IT Awards and holds a PhD from Dublin City University (DCU), as well as being a recipient of DCU’s Alumni Achievement honour.

Margie McCarthy is a Fellow of Engineers Ireland as well as Director of Research and Policy Insight with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), having previously served as Head of Education and Public Engagement and as Interim Director of Science for Society at Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).

Collins is the University Librarian at University College Dublin, and O’Carroll is currently the Chair of the Finance Committee of the Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar. Previously she was the Director of the National Library of Ireland, the founding Director of the Royal Irish Academy’s Digital Repository of Ireland, a Scientific Programme Manager in SFI, a Master Engineer in Ericsson Telecommunications, and a Mathematics lecturer in Dublin City University.

Lastly, Adrian O’Carroll is a co-founder of the Merrion Capital Group, one of Ireland’s leading stock broking and corporate finance organisations, having worked as a stockbroker in London for most of his career.

The Board comprises seventeen members, of which ten are appointed by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, five are ex-officio holders and two are nominated and appointed by the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Among the members is Trinity alumnus John O’Doherty, who graduated with a BA in Business and Economics.

The Board is responsible for the oversight of the affairs of the Gallery, and also aims to boost “knowledge of the visual arts by whatever means they consider appropriate” both within and outside of Ireland.

The Gallery is currently in its final year of its current Strategic Plan, which aims to address a “period of rapid social, political and economic change” through contributing “lively and enriching programmes for all levels of learning”.

The NGI houses the national collection of Irish and European art, and is located on Merrion Square, with the entrance to its more modern Millenium Wing on Nassau Street.

The appointment of four members to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) was also announced today.

The new members, also nominated by the Minister for Culture and Arts are Ali Curran, Jess Majekodunmi, Mike Fitzpatrick and Sinéad O’Sullivan.

Kate Byrne

Kate Byrne is the Deputy Comment Editor at Trinity News and is currently in her Junior Sophister Year studying History and Political Science.