Appointment to the Historic Monuments Council

1. The HMC was first established in 1971 under the provisions of the Historic Monuments (Northern Ireland) Act 1971. Its current authority is derived from the Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Its roots rest in the Ancient Monuments Advisory Council 1926-1970. It is a statutory advisory council which provides advice to the Department of Communities on the exercise of its powers under the Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (NI) Order 1995. This includes the conservation and preservation of monuments in state care, scheduling of monuments, maritime archaeology, industrial and defence heritage, historic parks, gardens and demesnes and the identification of Areas of Significant Archaeological Interest in the context of Development Plans

2. The Chair of HMC is not paid, but are entitled to an allowance for travelling and other expenses including a subsistence allowance payable in line with current Civil Service rates

3. The terms of appointment have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland Code of Practice

4. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires political activity of appointees to be published

5. Biographical details:

Ms Audrey Gahan

Ms Gahan co-established Gahan and Long Ltd in 2002, and is an archaeological consultant working primarily in the commercial sector. She has over 25 years’ experience conducting and leading high profile excavations, in both urban and rural settings, including Victoria Square Shopping Centre and the Sirocco Works. Ms Gahan is a recognised ceramic specialist, focusing primarily on medieval and post-medieval wares. She has produced numerous specialist reports for urban excavations throughout Ireland and has lectured and published on this subject. Ms Gahan has also acted as an expert witness in a large number of planning appeals. As a consultant on numerous design teams Ms Gahan has been responsible for developing and ultimately implementing the cultural heritage strategies for various projects throughout Ireland. On all of these, as well as other projects, liaison with statutory bodies, local authorities, local heritage groups and interested individuals have been key to success. Ms Gahan has been a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London since 2006. She has not undertaken any political activity in the last 5 years and holds no other public appointments

6.   Media enquiries to DfC Press Office on 028 9082 3532 or email: press.office@communities-ni.gov.uk.  Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110

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