Dr Richard McElligott – Non-Board member of the NMI Board’s General Public Advisory Committee (January 2021-present)
Dr Richard McElligott is a native of North Kerry and is lecturer in Modern and Irish History in the Department of Business and Humanities at Dundalk IT. Richard was awarded his PhD from University College Dublin in 2012 for his thesis on the political, social and cultural impact of the GAA on Irish society between 1884-1934. Since then, he has published widely on topics ranging from the Gaelic Revival, the history of Irish sport, the Irish Revolutionary era, the history of Irish childhood, Irish associational culture and the history of women and children in Church and State-run institutions.
Prior to his appointment in Dundalk IT, Richard worked for four years as a senior historical researcher to the Irish Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation. He is currently a member of the GAA’s Historical Committee and is also on the board of the Irish Museum of Childhood project. Between 2017-18 Richard served as an expert curator for RTÉ’s National Treasures project. As part of the role, he oversaw the selection of a range of objects for an exhibition on the social history of Ireland since 1918 for the National Museum of Ireland: Country Life. Richard is currently working on a project to explore the impact and legacy of the Civil War on Irish society.
Tracy Armstrong - external member of the NMI Board's Governance Audit & Risk Committee (July 2025 to present)
Tracy Armstrong is Director of Finance & People of Accounting Technicians Ireland, an education body which specialises in Accounting and Finance. She had an extensive career at the National Concert Hall (NCH) culminating as Head of Finance. She implemented the transition of the National Symphony Orchestra from RTÉ to the NCH and navigated a Change Management & Organisational Culture programme during the transformation. Throughout her career, Tracy has been involved in Governance, Audit & Risk and Financial and Organisational Strategy in the charity, public and private sectors.
Tracy is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds a B.A. in Accounting & Human Resource Management. She trained in Audit & Finance with Newmarket Partnership and KPMG.
Dr Njabulo Chipangura - external member of the NMI's Board's General Public Advisory Committee (October 2025 - present)
Dr Njabulo Chipangura is an Assistant Professor of African Anthropology at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, where he specializes in museum anthropology and critical heritage studies. He joined Maynooth University in February 2025, following his role as Curator of Anthropology at Manchester Museum, University of Manchester (2022–2025). Prior to that, he spent over a decade as Curator of Archaeology at the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, based at Mutare Museum (2009–2020). He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa. His work critically engages with the coloniality embedded in museums and advocates for collaborative, community-based methodologies. He is widely published in journals such as African Arts, Museum Worlds, Museum Anthropology, Museum International, Curator: The Museum Journal, Social Dynamics, Journal of Southern African Studies, Development Southern Africa, Museum Management & Curatorship, Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage and Museums & Social Issues. His first book, Museums as Agents for Social Change (Routledge, 2021), explores collaborative programming at Mutare Museum. He has a new co-authored book that has just been published by Cambridge University Press called Race, Genetics, History: New Practices & New Approaches. He is currently working on a monograph called Whose Stories are told by Museums with African Collections from Colonial Contexts to be published by Berghahn, New York/Oxford in 2026. He is also currently co-editing a volume called The Museologies of Africa: Rethinking African Museology, Community Inclusion, Living Cultures and Decolonisation set to be published by Routledge in 2026. Njabu serves on the editorial boards of Museum International and Museum and Society and is a board member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Collections Committee. He is also a curatorial advisory committee member for Museum Lab, Nat Kunde Museum in Germany.