New cabinet appointments, Irish Government

In a government announcement on Saturday 27 June 2020, the new cabinet sees the appointment of the following ministers with responsibilities for the museum sector: 

Catherine Martin TD - Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.

Originally from Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, Catherine is the Green Party’s Deputy Leader and T.D. for the constituency of Dublin Rathdown since February 2016. After founding the Oireachtas Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, she was elected as its inaugural Chair in November 2017.

A graduate from NUI Maynooth and a classical singer, Catherine taught English and Music in St Tiernan’s Community School in Dundrum, Dublin, for 16 years prior to being elected to the Dáil. She was a Councillor on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council from 2014 to 2016, and she served on the boards of the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education Training Board, Dundrum and Stillorgan Colleges of Further Education and St. Tiernan’s Community School.

Malcolm Noonan TD - Minister of State for for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Malcolm Noonan is an Irish Green Party politician and T.D. for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency since the 2020 general election. He was a member of Kilkenny County Council for the Kilkenny local electoral area from 2004 to 2020 and was Mayor of Kilkenny from 2009 to 2010.

Before entering politics, Noonan worked for twenty years as a community and environmental activist with Friends of the Earth. 

Patrick O'Donovan TD - Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works.

Patrick O'Donovan previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, from June 2017 until June 2020. He previously served as Minister of State for Tourism and Sport in 2016-17.  He was first elected to the Dáil in February 2011.

Patrick was first elected to Limerick County Council in June 2004, holding a number of positions during his time on the council as well as maintaining an active involvement with a number of charitable, cultural and sporting organisations.

The Irish Museums Association congratulates Ministers Catherine Martin TD, Malcolm Noonan TD, and Patrick O'Donovan TD on their appointments and looks forward to mutually supportive and fruitful relationships as we look to increased investment in the museum sector over the coming years.