The Irish Museums Association (IMA) welcomes two new board members

The Irish Museums Association (IMA) welcomes two new board members, Danielle O’Donovan and Savina Donohoe.

Following the recent vote held 30 May and 20 June, with an open call to members resulting in fourteen candidates, the IMA membership directly elected two new board members to the governance of the Irish Museums Association Ltd. We are delighted to announce that Danielle O’Donovan and Savina Donohoe have been appointed as new board members.

Familiar to many in the Irish Museums Sector, both Danielle and Savina bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, and will no doubt be an enormous asset to the IMA as it continues to develop.

Danielle O’Donovan is the Programme Manager at Nano Nagle Place in Cork City and has worked in museums for over a decade, most of which has been spent working in the independent museum sector. In presenting her candidacy to members, Danielle said “My experience in the independent museums sector means I have worked in the ‘new power’ outward facing museums, particularly those Graham Black describes as ‘agile, fast-moving, cheap, with frequent event programming and always something new’. I would love to bring something of that spirit to the board of the IMA.”

Savina Donohoe is a recently retired Museum Curator with Cavan County Council’s Museum and holds over twenty years’ experience working in culture, heritage and the arts. Savina is currently undertaking an MA in Applied Spirituality at Milltown Institute, Dublin, on the topic of ‘Spirituality and Kind Leadership in Public Service Settings’. In her bid for appointment to the board she highlighted the impact kind leadership can contribute to organisations and communities: the importance of compassion and openness as values that can contribute greatly to the future culture of Irish Museums.

The appointment of the Danielle O’Donovan and Savina Donohoe brings the IMA board’s membership to twelve, an expansion of the board to ensure it is representative of the wide range of museums working in Ireland - from National Cultural Institutions to volunteer-led museums - as it develops its vision for the sector and new Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

In announcing the result of the election, Gina O’Kelly, Irish Museums Association, said “It is important to our sector that we embed democratic values with all areas of our organisations, including leadership. I would like to sincerely thank our members for participating in this process, evidencing the commitment of our membership to the future of the Association.”

Click here to read the profiles of IMA board members.