Appointments to the Board of Directors of the NI Museums Council
Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín has announced the appointment of three new Directors to the Board of the NI Museums Council.
~ Friday, 10 February 2012
After an open competition the following people have been appointed for a term of three years with effect from 1 January 2012:
- Mr Patrick Barr
- Mr Roddy Hegarty
- Mr Robin Osborne Morton
The Minister conveyed her gratitude to the new Directors for accepting an appointment to serve on the Museums Council. She said: “Each of the new appointees brings considerable experience and a diverse range of outstanding skills which will make a significant contribution to the Council’s work. The independent museums sector makes an important contribution to our cultural, educational and tourism product."
Notes to editors:
1. NI Museums Council (NIMC) was established in 1993 to support the local museums of the North of Ireland in maintaining and improving their standards of collections care and public service.
It is registered in NI as a limited company with charitable status. It is a company limited by guarantee and not having share capital. It has a Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The number of Directors shall not be less than seven or more than fifteen, unless and until the Members shall by Special Resolution otherwise determine.
The Board of Directors of the NI Museums Council comprises:
Three Public Appointees by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure;
Three nominees by the Eligible Authorities;
The Curators Group shall have the right to nominate three persons in the employment of Museums Members of the Company;
One member of National Museums and Galleries of NI;
One nominee from the Universities;
The independent and / or services museums in NI recognised by NIMC shall together have the right to nominate two persons in the employment of an independent or services museum which is a Museums Member of NIMC.
The appointments are made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for NI (CPANI). All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for NI requires the political activity of appointees to be published.
Members attract no remuneration and receive expenses only.
2. Biographical details of the new members
Mr Patrick Barr has been appointed as a Director on the Board of the NI Museums Council for a term of 3 years with effect from 1 January 2012.
He is from Derry, but now lives in Belfast. He is an honours graduate in Finance from Queens University, Belfast. He is a Chartered Management Accountant and is the current Chair of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in Ireland (CIMA Ireland). He is Head of Governance and Financial Planning in the Department of Justice and currently teaches final level papers for two of the main accountancy institutes. Mr Barr has not been involved in any political activity in the last five years.
Mr Roddy Hegarty has been appointed as a Director on the Board of the NI Museums Council for a term of 3 years with effect from 1 January 2012.
He lives in Belfast. He has experience in developing and delivering education and outreach programmes and has acted as an advisor to a range of projects including developing workshops for trainee teachers to develop their use of local studies. He is the Director of the Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Library & Archive (CÓFLA). He is also a Director and Chairman of the Federation for Ulster Local Studies Ltd (FULS) which operates as the principle representative body for local historical studies societies in Ulster. He is currently Chairman of the Armagh Visitor Education Committee. Mr Hegarty has not been involved in any political activity in the last five years.
Mr Robin Morton has been appointed as a Director on the Board of the NI Museums Council for a term of three years with effect from 1 January 2012.
Mr Morton is married and lives in Belfast. A journalist by profession, he worked in newspapers for 38 years, before taking early retirement in May 2009 from the Belfast Telegraph. During his 36 years with the paper, he had fulfilled a number of roles, including deputy political correspondent, leader writer and business correspondent. He continues to carry out some freelance work and is Ireland correspondent of Steam Railway magazine.
Mr Morton served for a period as honorary secretary of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland and is currently convenor of the Society’s events committee. Since 1991 he has acted as congregational secretary of May Street Presbyterian Church in Belfast. He is also a trustee director of the Belfast Telegraph pension fund.
Mr Morton is currently a Ministerial Appointee on the board of the NI Community Relations Council and is chairman of the Community Relations Council’s communications sub-group. He receives no remuneration for this post but may receive travel expenses. Mr Morton has not been involved in any political activity in the last five years.
3. Media enquiries should be addressed to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure Press Office Tel 028 9051 5047 or email communications@dcalni.gov.uk. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
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