Historic Monuments Council appointments
Environment Minister, Alex Attwood, today announced the appointment of six new members, and the re-appointment of the chairman and eight existing members to the Historic Monuments Council for a five-year term, effective from 1 February 2012.
~ Thursday, 26 January 2012
Welcoming the appointments, Alex Attwood said: “Our Built Heritage is a great part of our lives and a major element in economic growth, tourist numbers and spend. The Historic Monuments Council can help inform government how to maintain built heritage and positively develop the asset".
Established in 1971, the Historic Monuments Council is a statutory advisory council which provides advice to the Department of the Environment on the exercise of its powers under the Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (NI) Order 1995. This includes the conservation and preservation of monuments in state care, scheduling of monuments, maritime archaeology, industrial and defence heritage and the identification of Areas of Significant Archaeological Interest in the context of Development Plans.
The new appointees are: Mrs Lesley Black, Mr Cormac Bourke, Mr Nick Brannon, Mr William Darby, Miss Kathleen Laverty, and Mrs Sarah Witchell.
Notes to editors:
- The appointments are effective from 1 February 2012 to 31 January 2017. Neither the chairman’s post nor members’ posts attract a salary. However, the chairman’s and members’ expenses are met.
- These appointments were made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s Code of Practice for Ministerial Public Appointments.
- All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires political activity of appointees to be published.
- None of the appointees carried out any political activity in the past five years or currently hold any other public appointments.
- Reappointments
Gabriel Cooney lives in Dublin and is the chairman of the Council. He is a Professor of Celtic Archaeology in the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin and served as Head of the School from 2008-11. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a member of the German Archaeological Institute. He was appointed to a second term as a member of the Heritage Council in 2010. Gabriel is actively engaged with the management, protection and presentation of the historic environment.
Henry Bell lives in Belfast and is a senior lecturer with over 30 years teaching experience. He lectures in history in a number of centres across Belfast, taking a special interest in local history and organising field trips helping to make people aware of the importance of their heritage. Henry is a committed local historian who has contributed to several publications based on the development of Belfast and its industrial heritage and is a frequent contributor to a number of radio and television programmes relating to history and politics.
Malachy Conway is an Archaeologist with over 22 years professional experience which has included reporting on over 90 licensed excavations carried out throughout Ireland. He is currently a National Trust Archaeologist for the Northern Ireland region and his skills and knowledge cover prehistoric archaeology, landscape archaeology, industrial archaeology, archaeological survey techniques and Heritage management and conservation. He is also a HMC representative on the Joint Committee for Industrial Heritage.
Tim Cunningham lives in Belfast. He is currently studying a PhD at the Transitional Justice Institute, University of Ulster, on Equality, Human Rights, and Conflict Resolution. Prior to commencing the PhD, Tim worked for over ten years for the Committee on the Administration of Justice, a local human rights non-governmental organisation, as equality programme officer, and holds an LLM (with distinction) from Queen's University Belfast in Human Rights Law. Tim has a particular interest and expertise in the application of equality and human rights obligations to public policy and decision-making in Northern Ireland.
Suzanne Lyle lives in Belfast. She is an Art Historian and is Head of Visual Arts at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. As part of her role she is Curator of the Arts Council Collections. She brings a range of knowledge and skills in the fields of medieval art and history, collection management and display, and experience of broader cultural heritage matters. She has been a part of several committees including the Ethics Committee of the Museums Association and the Culture Committee of the UK National Commission for UNESCO. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Philip MacDonald lives in Banbridge. He is currently the Principal Director in the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, Queen’s University Belfast. He has directed archaeological excavations at a number of sites in Northern Ireland and has an expert knowledge of historic landscapes. Philip is also a Published author.
John McGillan lives in Coleraine. He is a Retired Project Manager with the Efficiency Services Department in the N.I Housing Executive. John has been working as a part-time local tour guide for the past four years and holds a National Certificate in Marine & Countryside Guiding (National Tourism Certification Board). He also works in a voluntary capacity for Accord Marriage Care Service.
Anne-Marie McStocker lives in the mid-Ulster area. She is a post-primary teacher of English, Drama and History; with a background in and a strong commitment to Community Relations work. She enjoys visiting historic sites and trails and promotes local history, current affairs and positive, engaged citizenship to her students. Anne-Marie has a real belief in the value of meaningful engagement with communities, especially rural communities, young people, landowners and farmers in order to better protect and preserve our collective assets.
Stephen Russell lives in Dromara. He has spent most of his working life in the construction industry and property development. He is passionate about Irish History, our built environment and the archaeology that shapes our landscape. Stephen brings an understanding of the development and construction industries and the planning process to the Council. - New Appointments
Lesley Black lives in Strangford. She runs her own television production company which specialises in programmes about environment and heritage. She has worked on these programmes as producer, scriptwriter and editor and has visited and reported on historic sites throughout the province. With a background that encompasses teaching, written journalism and the broadcast media in general, she has well-developed communication skills and the ability to deal analytically with complex or sensitive matters and make them accessible to a wider audience.
Cormac Bourke lives in Belfast. He is currently the honorary editor of the Ulster Journal of Archaeology. He was previously the curator of Medieval Antiquities in the Ulster Museum and was responsible for over 25 years for documentation, exhibition, acquisition and research. He has a wide knowledge of historic monuments and landscapes and of medieval material culture.
Nick Brannon lives in Glarryford, Co. Antrim. He is a specialist consultant on the historical archaeology of the Ulster Plantation and post-medieval ceramics. He is a former President of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology. Formerly the Director of Built Heritage of NIEA (then EHS, 1999-2002), he was responsible for drafting the current legislation that covers historic monuments, archaeological objects, treasure and the HMC. With 35 years' experience of Northern Ireland archaeology, as a fieldworker and a senior civil servant, Nick will bring a wide range of skills and knowledge to HMC.
William Darby lives on a farm near Ballyclare. He is currently the chairman of the Joint Committee for Industrial Heritage, which is a joint committee of HMC and HBC. He has previously served on the Historic Buildings Council. He has extensive experience as a Chartered Engineer working both in the UK and USA and has public sector experience at a senior level within the former Department of the Environment, particularly the Planning Service and Water Service.
Kathleen Laverty lives in Belfast where she currently runs a community centre. She is an active member of the Ulster Archaeological Society, Group for Education in Museums, The Visitors Studies Group, The Museums and Galleries Heritage Group, Irish Museums Association and the Museum Computers Group. She also voluntarily delivers courses to local historical groups.
Sarah Witchell lives in Newtownards. She is qualified as a solicitor, and is currently a self-employed legal consultant and an expert on land law and conveyancing, having worked for many years in private practice. She is also a member of the Council of the Law Society of NI and a Board member of Habinteg Housing Association. She previously led a project on Land Law reform for the NI Law Commission and has worked at the Law Society of NI in a management position. - For media enquiries please contact the DOE Press Office on 02890256058 or out of office hours call the EIS Duty Press Officer on pager 07699715440 and your call will be returned.
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