New Irish advisory Committee on the Restitution and Repatriation of Cultural Heritage

The committee will undertake research into international best practice within the field of provenance research, restitution and repatriation, as well as engaging with key stakeholders to assess the scope of relevant cultural heritage collections in Ireland. The objective of the committee is to provide policy advice and prepare national guidelines to support Irish cultural institutions in dealing with objects of unknown provenance in their collections.

Internationally, there have been a number of recent high profile cases in which artefacts have been returned by cultural institutions to their places of origin. While there is growing public awareness of these issues, until now, there have been no guidelines for cultural institutions in Ireland regarding how to deal with such objects. The new advisory committee will provide critical support to collection managers regarding professional standards in the management of cultural heritage.

The committee will be chaired by the Rt. Hon. Sir Donnell Deeny, chairman of the U.K. government’s Spoliation Advisory Panel and member of the Court of Arbitration for Art in The Hague. Membership of the committee will be drawn from the museum, archives and gallery sector, the civil service, and legal and ethical expertise, as well as representation from claimant communities. The Heritage Council, the statutory body with responsibility to propose policies relating to heritage objects as well as responsibility for the Museum Standards Programme of Ireland, will serve as the oversight body for the advisory committee and will provide the secretariat.

Image : Irish Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin T.D.