Mr. William Blair:

I thank the Chairman and members for the invitation to attend. In my capacity as chair of the Irish Museums Association, IMA, it is a pleasure and a privilege to address the committee on behalf of the sector. I am accompanied by Ms Gina O’Kelly, the IMA’s director of operations. My day job is director of collections with National Museums Northern Ireland, which incorporates the Ulster Museum, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and the Ulster American Folk Park.

Many present will be familiar with the work of the Irish Museums Association, but I will briefly introduce the context for this presentation. An all-island organisation, the IMA is dedicated to the development of the museum sector. We provide a platform for museum professionals on both sides of the Border to work together with the aim of gathering and sharing expertise, promoting standards of excellence, encouraging collaborative practice, identifying areas of concern and opportunities for the museum community and advocating the valuable contribution of museums to our society. Most importantly, we provide a collective voice for the museum sector through our 12-member board of directors and more than 300 members who represent the wide breadth of museums, ranging from small, community-led voluntary organisations to national cultural institutions. We also work in partnership with many collection-based organisations - many but not all from the cultural heritage sector - to provide a programme that advises on, encourages and supports long-term sustainable care and interpretation of our cultural heritage in line with the Heritage Council's museums standards programme for Ireland and the Northern Ireland Museums Council accreditation scheme in the UK. We provide continued professional development and networking opportunities, advocate for museums on a national and international level and carry out valuable research.

Although the IMA is there to support museums, we are not about maintaining the status quo. We also challenge and lead conversations about how museums need to change to be more relevant and engage more people. Building stronger networks should be part of this forward momentum of change. It is about building a stronger and more coherent and sustainable sector.

Constructive partnerships are at the heart of museum practice. By pooling resources through the sharing of skills and expertise, museums have been able to deliver strategic value and provide enriched programmes and visitor experiences. This was never more evident than during this decade of commemorations, which continues to involve great pride and buy-in at a grassroots level and in which regional and rural museums have had a key leadership role. Not only are they critically interpreting their histories through their collections and providing further contextual understanding of the events surrounding this decade, they are also enabling access to expertise, research and education. They are enhancing opportunities for public engagement and highlighting aspects within museum practice often overlooked by the public.

Cross-Border collaborations in museums have had a major impact in terms of celebrating diversity and exploring our shared histories by providing safe spaces to discuss and explore contested narratives. The IMA's recent "Bridge over Brexit" research with Ulster University highlighted the value of an extended and diverse museum network. It facilitates diverse conversations and supports and assesses existing relationships and initiatives within the museum sector. It explores the potential implications and lines of communication to prepare for the changes ahead and advocates the role of the museum and the broader cultural sector in fostering relationships between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland though the expertise of museums, the leadership and world-leading research of which across a range of core themes will be vital to the Brexit discussion. It is in this context we wish to take this opportunity to highlight the landscape in which many of our members from regional and rural museums work.

There are approximately 178 museums in Ireland, of which 141 have a regional or rural remit. Many work in isolation and without the supports available to those in urban environments. With the loss of the museum officer role within the Heritage Council, volunteer and community-led museums increasingly look to the IMA for guidance. Cognisant of the limited capacity under which we function, we do this towards the goal of the museum sector working together as a whole. Facilitating links between our national and regional cultural institutions and grassroots museums is key to how we work, particularly in terms of supporting the increasingly divergent roles the contemporary museum is expected to play in our society.

In 2016, we published a survey of museums in Ireland carried out in collaboration with University College Dublin. The first iteration of its kind in over a decade, the findings highlighted that major strides had been taken to improve the services provided by our museums to the communities they serve, particularly in the areas of education and access. However, it also highlighted the opportunity for enhanced support of community and independent museums, including a review of funding initiatives and the development of a national strategy regarding the specific needs of regional and rural museums. This would recognise the key role they play in developing a local sense of identity and community, promoting social cohesion and inclusivity, their contribution to well-being, life-long learning and their contribution to rural development and tourism.

Museums are safe spaces to explore and discuss what really matters and where we are going. At their best, museums are a place to celebrate diversity and to explore our shared history. The value of an extended and diverse museum network is that it helps to facilitate diverse and important conversations across the island as a whole.

I wish to conclude by commending on the importance accorded to our cultural heritage in recent Government and agency strategies and plans, including Heritage 2030, Culture 2025, Creative Ireland and Project Ireland 2040. I thank the committee for inviting us to be here today. The Irish Museums Association looks forward to working with the Government to continue to enable a fluid dialogue around museum practice in the coming years.