New members appointed to the Board

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

Dr Sandra Collins, Dr Michelle D Cullen, Ms Margie McCarthy and Mr Adrian O’Carroll will each serve a five-year term

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, has today announced the following four new appointments to the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland:
Dr Sandra Collins
Dr Michelle D Cullen
Ms Margie McCarthy
Mr Adrian O’Carroll
The four appointees will each serve a five-year term.  

Ms Mary Keane, Chairperson of the Board of Governors and Guardians of The National Gallery of Ireland said:  
“The National Gallery of Ireland is a wonderfully dynamic and modern institution and I am delighted that we are announcing the appointment of Dr Sandra Collins, Dr Michelle D Cullen, Margie McCarthy and Adrian O’Carroll to the Board. These appointments 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.”

Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of The National Gallery of Ireland commented:
“I am so pleased to welcome Dr Sandra Collins, Dr Michelle D Cullen, Margie McCarthy and Adrian O’Carroll to the Board of the National Gallery of Ireland.  These new appointments align with the National Gallery of Ireland’s strategic objectives. They bring a wealth of experience and will deepen engagement with a variety of audiences for the Gallery.”  

Media contacts:

• Tanya Lawless, Communications Marketing and Digital Engagement Manager, National Gallery of Ireland. [email protected] 
• Ciara Mooney, Press Officer, National Gallery of Ireland. [email protected] 

Notes to Editors:

Dr Sandra Collins
Dr Sandra Collins is the University Librarian at University College Dublin. She has worked in digital innovation and cultural heritage over 25 years in the public and private sectors. She was previously the Director of the National Library of Ireland, the founding Director of the Digital Repository of Ireland in the Royal Irish Academy, a Scientific Programme Manager in Science Foundation Ireland, a Master Engineer in Ericsson Telecommunications, and a Mathematics lecturer in Dublin City University. Dr Collins received her PhD in nonlinear fluid dynamics from UCD in 1996 and is the recipient of the UCD Alumni award for Research, Innovation and Impact. She has previously served on the Boards of the Irish Manuscripts Commission, the Chester Beatty Library, and the Museum of Literature Ireland, as well as the Irish Government’s Open Data Governance Board, the Government’s Advisory Forum for ‘Creating our Future’, and the Council of the National Cultural Institutions.  

Dr Michelle D Cullen
Dr Michelle D Cullen is the Managing Director and Board member of Accenture International and the company’s Head of Inclusion and Diversity. She is a strong advocate for diversity in leadership and co-founder of Accenture’s Women on Walls initiative with the Royal Irish Academy, RCSI and DCU, which seeks to make women leaders visible through a series of commissioned portraits to inspire future generations. Dr Cullen has a proven record of accomplishment in managing innovation, with a focus on the humanities and sustainable, inclusive decision-making. She was named Woman of the Year at the 2018 Women in IT Awards. Michelle holds a PhD from Dublin City University and is a DCU Alumni Achievement honouree. 

Margie McCarthy
Margie McCarthy is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of Engineers Ireland and the Director of Research and Policy Insight with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) supporting Ireland’s clean energy transition. Margie is also the Executive sponsor with responsibility for SEAI’s strategic communications and its equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy. She joined SEAI from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), where she served as Head of Education and Public Engagement and as Interim Director of Science for Society. She brings excellent skills and vast experience in relation to community, equality, diversity and inclusion as well as innovation and sustainability to the board of the National Gallery. 

Adrian O’Carroll
Adrian O'Carroll, born in Killybegs, County Donegal, was educated in Ireland and then spent most of his early career in London working as a stockbroker. He has extensive experience in the area of financial and risk management. He co-founded the Merrion Capital Group, which became one of Ireland's leading stock broking, fund management and corporate finance organisations. In 2010 as part of some ownership changes, Adrian took the opportunity to retire from the business and the industry and to devote his non-family time to providing advice on a voluntary basis to the arts sector and developing an understanding of the Irish visual arts sector. Adrian is currently the Chair of the Finance Committee of the Project Arts Centre in Temple Bar and is a member of the board of AKO Capital. Adrian has played a key role in developing the Project Arts Centre into an important institute for contemporary Irish Art.

National Gallery of Ireland Board of Governors and Guardians
The Board comprises up to seventeen members, of which ten are appointed by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, five are ex-officio holders of the offices listed below, and two are nominated and appointed by the Royal Hibernian Academy pursuant to a power bestowed on them in the 1854 Act. Members appointed by the Minister serve terms of five years. Ex-officio members serve terms of varying duration depending on the constitution of their organisation. 

Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) | President
Royal Dublin Society (RDS) | President and Vice President
Royal Irish Academy (RIA) | President 
Office of Public Works (OPW) | Chairman

Current members of the Board of the National Gallery of Ireland
Maurice Buckley 
Dr Mary Canning RIA
Dr Sandra Collins
Diana Copperwhite RHA
Gary Coyle RHA
Dr Michelle D Cullen
John Dardis, President, RDS
Dan Flinter 
Jacqueline Hall 
Gary Jermyn 
Mary Keane (Chairperson) 
Margie McCarthy
Abigail O'Brien PRHA
Adrian O’Carroll
John O'Doherty 
Barney Whelan
Hilary Hough, Vice-President, RDS
Niamh O’Connor (Board Secretary) 

About the National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland is one of the country’s most popular visitor attractions housing the nation’s collection of European and Irish art from about 1300 to the present day, and an extensive Library & Archive. Entry to the collection is free for all to enjoy, learn and be inspired. See www.nationalgallery.ie for more information.