Virginia Teehan is an Irish art historian, writer,

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

and

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

who has led the Irish Heritage Council (''An Comhairle Oidhreachta'') since January 2019. She was elected a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

in 2022. She grew up in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, and studied at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

(UCC) where she attained an

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in arts, and later at Trinity College Dublin where she earned a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

. She is a qualified archivist and former Chair of the Archives and Records Association Ireland. In that capacity she is credited as having successfully lobbied for the introduction of legislation to protect local authority archives. In 2018 Teehan completed an MBA (University College Cork). She has acted as director of Cultural Projects at UCC, and as director of the Hunt Museum in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. During her time at the Hunt Museum Teehan successfully led the organization through a government enquiry established following an allegation made by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Paris that items from the Hunt collection were looted during the Nazi era. Teehan established a major provenance research project which proved ultimately that the allegations were unfounded. She was appointed by minister Síle de Valera to the board of the Heritage Council from 2000–05 and was reaffirmed until 2008. She was appointed to the Board of the National Museum of Ireland in 2016. Teehan has written extensively on the history and artworks of the

Honan Chapel The Honan Chapel (, formally Saint Finbarr's Collegiate Chapel and The Honan Hostel Chapel) is a small Catholic church built in the Hiberno-Romanesque revival style on the grounds of University College Cork, Ireland. Designed in 1914, the buil ...

in UCC,McBrinn, Joseph. "Reviewed Work: The Honan Chapel: A Golden Vision by Virginia Teehan, Elizabeth Wincott Heckett". ''Irish Arts Review'', volume 21, vo. 4 (Winter, 2004), pp. 151-152. Forgotten Faces of Art: The women of the Honan Chapel
.

, 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2020. as well as on fine and

decorative art ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

s, and cultural management, including monographs on Ogham inscriptions, Seán Keating, Louis le Brocquy and

Jack B. Yeats Jack Butler Yeats RHA (29 August 1871 – 28 March 1957) was an Irish artist and Olympic medalist. W. B. Yeats was his brother. Butler's early style was that of an illustrator; he only began to work regularly in oils in 1906. His early pict ...

.Virginia Teehan

. Retrieved 30 March 2024

Selected publications

Books

* ''Sean Keating: In Focus''. Associated Editions, 2009. * ''Louis Le Brocquy Allegory and Legend''. Hunt Museum, 2006. * ''The Honan Chapel: A Golden Vision'' (with Elizabeth Heckett). Cork University Press, 2005. * ''The Ogam Stones at University College Cork'' (with Damian McManus). Cork University Press, 2005. ASIN: B00FBBG3L8 * ''Jack B. Yeats: Master of Ceremonies''. Hunt Museum, 2004. *''Provision of Genealogical Services in Ireland''. The Heritage Council, 2000.

Journals

*"Celtic renaissance". ''Irish Arts Review'', volume 33, issue 1, 2016. *"Raqqan bowl". ''Irish Arts Review'', volume 26, issue 2, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teehan, Virginia Alumni of University College Cork Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish art historians Living people Members of the Royal Irish Academy Year of birth missing (living people) Irish women curators