Board of the Museum

The Board of the Museum comprises a chairperson and 15 ordinary members.

The principal functions of the Board is:

To maintain, manage, control, protect, preserve, record, research and enlarge the collection of museum heritage objects for the benefit of the public and to increase and diffuse in and outside the State knowledge of human life in Ireland, of the natural history of Ireland and of the relations of Ireland in these respects with other countries.

Members of the Board

Name	Date of Appointment	Term	Nominated By
Prof. Cathal O’Donoghue (Chair)	30 July 2021	5 years	Royal Dublin Society
Dr. Ciaran Byrne	9 September 2022	5 years	-
Suzanne Costello	7 December 2023	5 years	-
Kieran Dowdall	6 November 2024	5 years	NMI Staff Representative
Beatrice Kelly	9 September 2022	5 years	-
Dr. Claudia Kinmonth	30 July 2021	5 years	Royal Irish Academy
Rowena Neville	7 December 2023	5 years	-
Dr Barra O'Donnabhain	5 October 2020 - Second Term	8 years	-
Prof. Geraldine Sheridan	30 July 2021	5 years	Royal Irish Academy
Barney Whelan	6 November 2024	5 years	-

Prof Cathal O'Donoghue (Chair) Cathal O’Donoghue has been from 2016, the Established Chair of Social and Public Policy, at the University of Galway. From 2016-2020, he was the Dean of Arts and Social Sciences. Prior to this he was since 2005, Head of Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme. He was a member of the Fund Council of CGIAR, a $1 billion a year International Agri-Food Research organisation from 2014-2016. From 2012-2014, he was CEO of the Irish Government's Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas 2012-2014, Chairman of the Irish Sport Horse Strategy Committee 2013-2015, and was President of the International Microsimulation Association 2011-2015. 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.

Dr Ciaran Byrne Dr Ciaran Byrne is currently the Director of the National Retrofit Directorate in Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). In this position his key priority is to build the National Retrofit Directorate within SEAI and design the business and financial model capable of mobilising the effective delivery of over 55,000 BER B2 retrofits per annum from 2023. This target will be achieved through a network of ‘One Stop Shops’, creating a national demand for retrofit amongst homeowners through marketing, addressing operational bottlenecks, smart finance options and raising awareness of the multiple benefits of undertaking a retrofit. One of Ciaran’s other priorities is activating the education and construction sectors to ensure appropriately skilled labour is available to deliver Ireland’s retrofit ambition. Prior to joining the SEAI, Ciaran held CEO roles in two other State Agencies the Central Fisheries Board and Inland Fisheries Ireland, between 2008 and 2020. Ciaran is a qualified management accountant and served his time working in industry where he gained a deep understanding of business, and the importance of cost controls and focusing on core objectives. Ciaran is a Chartered Director and was admitted into the Institute of Directors in 2017, and he has just completed a master’s degree in business studies. Ciaran has degree and Ph.D. in zoology from Trinity College and has authored several peer reviewed scientific publications.

Suzanne Costello 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.

Dr. Mark Henry Mark Henry has extensive experience in tourism, heritage, marketing and communications. Mark spent two decades as an executive director in Tourism Ireland – the all-island body promoting overseas tourism to the island of Ireland – and is currently the Chief Communications & Marketing Officer at Technological University Dublin. He completed a ten-year term as a board director of the Irish Heritage Trust which operates three historic properties, the National Famine Museum, and the Irish Agricultural Museum. Mark is the author of the best-selling book ‘In Fact: An Optimist’s Guide to Ireland at 100’ that tells the story of the country’s progress since independence, and he holds a PhD in history from the University of Westminster.

Dr Claudia Kinmonth Claudia Kinmonth is an art and design historian, whose early career included furniture conservation and restoration. Her Irish research began with an MA at the London’s Royal College of Art, before working at the V&A and Sir John Soane’s Museum. In 1993 the first of her books for Yale University Press, Irish Country Furniture 1700-1950 won awards and was followed by Irish Rural Interiors in Art (2006). Her publications instigated three pioneering exhibitions on genre paintings, the most recent juxtaposing vernacular furniture (in Cork, Dublin and Boston College). The Royal Dublin Society awarded her their Library and Archives Bursary in 2018, the year of her election as a member of The Royal Irish Academy. Her latest book Irish Country Furniture and Furnishings 1700-2000 (Cork University Press) won The Durkan Prize for Language and Culture from the American Conference for Irish Studies, in 2021. She is a Research Fellow at the Moore Institute, NUI Galway, and Research Curator (Domestic Life) at the Ulster Folk Museum, as well as curatorial advisor for several museums in Cork.

John Neary John Neary is a former diplomat who served as Ireland’s Ambassador to Japan and the Netherlands. A native of Co. Louth, he graduated from University College Dublin (UCD) before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs. Following his retirement in 2016, he was appointed Adjunct Professor in UCD. From 2018-2025, he was a Trustee of the Chester Beatty Library. He is the author of Public Diplomacy in Ireland and Japan.

John O’Connor John O’Connor is an Executive Director with JP Morgan’s Corporate Banking team in Ireland. JP Morgan is a global financial institution with operations in Ireland since 1919. In Ireland, JP Morgan services Irelands multinational corporations, mid cap and large corporations and high growth scaling innovation companies. John is six years with JP Morgan. Formerly a Relationship Director for HSBC Ireland in its corporate banking business for 12 years. In these roles, John sat on the executive branch committees for both organisations in Ireland. JP Morgan and HSBC have substantial operations and physical footprint in Ireland across fund services, merchant acquiring, technology and employee share management.John graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelor in Business and Legal Studies. He holds a Diploma in Corporate Finance with the Chartered Accountants of Ireland, completed the Chartered Director course with the Institute of Directors of Ireland, completed a Certificate in Sustainable Finance with the University of Cambridge and recently completed a Certificate in International Cash Management with the UK Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Dipti Pandya Dipti Pandya is Director of Research at University College Dublin, where she leads research strategy, policy, governance, and operations across Ireland’s largest university. She brings over 25 years of experience in research, innovation, EU affairs, diversity and public policy. A Ministerial appointee to the Board of Léargas and elected Chair of the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA), she previously served as Director of the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Prof Geraldine Sheridan Professor Geraldine Sheridan MRIA [(BA, H Dip Ed, MA(NUI), PhD (Warwick), Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques] is Professor Emeritus in French at the University of Limerick where she lectured in many aspects of modern French culture and was Director of the Eighteenth-Century Research Group. She served on the Governing Authority of the University of Limerick, and on the Council of the Royal Irish Academy. She has published extensively on many aspects of eighteenth- century culture in France and Ireland and made a particular contribution to understanding the circulation of Spinoza’s ideas throughout eighteenth-century Europe in French underground manuscripts. She also studied the impact of the Huguenot diaspora on education, including those who settled in Ireland, while some of her most recent publications have contributed to revising the profile of women working in the trades and arts throughout eighteenth-century Europe. Professor Sheridan has served in many academic and honorary research positions in France and the United States where she was Fulbright Professor. Throughout her career she has had a particular interest in fostering diversity and inclusion: social, gender-based and regional.

Rowena Neville Rowena Neville leads Blue Line Consulting, working with clients across business, public sector, arts and culture, academia, and non-profit sectors. Rowena’s strengths and experience lie in building capacity and devising solutions in strategic planning, community engagement, accessibility and inclusion, public affairs and policy development, sponsorship, communications, crisis management, marketing and diversifying income. Rowena has worked with organisations locally and internationally to help them tell more compelling stories, and devise and implement solutions to address a range of business challenges including broadening diversity, social inclusion, institutional and organisational sustainability, and measuring impact.

Dr Barra O’Donnabhain Dr. Barra O’Donnabhain is an archaeologist who teaches at University College Cork. His specialism is bioarchaeology, the contextualised analysis of archaeological human remains. O’Donnabhain has directed and collaborated in archaeological projects in a number of world areas. His recent focus has been on institutional confinement. From 2012 to 2018 he conducted excavations at the 19^th century prison at Spike Island in Cork harbour. He is co-editor of the 2018 volume “Archaeological Human Remains: Legacies of Imperialism, Communism, and Colonialism” published by Springer, New York. He is a member of the Academic Board of the Los Angeles-based Institute for Field Research.

Barney Whelan Barney studied Fisheries Biology in UCD, his post graduate work involved studies on the impact of pollution on Freshwater fish; his MBA in UCD focussed on the economic impact of Environmentalism. He worked in offshore Salmon aquaculture for 15 years, where he was responsible for production at the world’s 5^th largest grower. Barney subsequently became Director of Communications at ESB, Director of Marketing Communications at SafeFood and subsequently Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at An Post. He recently graduated with a Post Graduate Diploma in Food Studies at UCC. Barney is an Associate Research Fellow at the Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanities and is getting ready to start an Masters in Research in Art History at UCC. He served as Vice Chair of the National Gallery for 6 years and currently serves on a number of other Boards, including The West Cork Arts Centre, The Cork International Film Festival and West Cork Maritime Heritage.

Kieran Dowdall Kieran Dowdall is the NMI Staff Appointee to the Board. Joining the NMI in 2018, he works in the Facilities Department based at Collins Barracks. Kieran has BSc in Facilities Management. He plays an important role on some the museum’s committees, such as the Health & Safety Committee, and is a Staff Engagement Officer for the NMI’s Green Team. Kieran was featured as part of the 'Hidden Treasures' documentary series on RTÉ, which featured the Museum. Previously, Kieran worked in the entertainment industry, including running the stage crew in Vicar Street, which won multiple IMRO awards for Best Technical Crew.