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Margaret Gowen, MA, MIAI
Managing Director of Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, Senior Project Manager and
Consultant
Margaret has twenty-five years of experience in archaeological excavation and
survey projects, Environmental Impact Assessment (archaeology and cultural
heritage), and in archaeological consulting for planning purposes. Margaret
attended University College Cork, where she received both her BA 1st (Hons) and
MA 1st (Hons) in archaeology in 1975 and 1979 respectively. Soon after
graduating she commenced her professional excavation experience on the National
Museum of Ireland’s Wood Quay excavations at Fishamble Street and on National
Monuments Section excavation projects up to 1982.
Margaret currently manages this professional practice of archaeological and
cultural heritage consultants, project managers and surveyors which carries out
a very wide range of archaeological and related heritage and planning
consultancy work, together with the management and operation of a variety of
commercial archaeological projects.
Margaret has acted as Archaeological Consultant and Project Manager for many
large-scale projects including the Light Rail Transport LUAS Project
(1996-2004); Temple Bar excavations (1992-2001); Limerick Main Drainage Scheme
(1997-2000); River Nore (Kilkenny City) Flood Alleviation Scheme (2000-2005);
and several cross-county gas pipeline projects culminating in the Gas Pipeline
to the West project (2001-2003), the largest single gas pipeline project to have
been undertaken in Europe in one season of construction. The company’s
involvement in most of these projects began with preparation of a risk-focused
constraint study, EIS and planning document preparation in advance of
development, through to the management of archaeological excavation, where
required, prior to construction.
A feature of the company’s development and its ethos has been a focus on the
inclusion of applied archaeological research in the context of commercial
archaeological mitigation projects and excavations, and the publication and
presentation of the results of such research.
At this point the company has developed its own research frameworks for
particular aspects of Irish archaeological chronology in both urban and rural
contexts and has forged links with academic research where possible in the areas
of prehistory, medieval urban archaeology artefact studies, osteology, history,
and environmental archaeology.
Academic Qualifications :
Professional Bodies and Other Professional Activities:
Member of Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) (formerly the Irish
Association of Professional Archaeologists (IAPA)) since 1985 and co-opted onto
the IAI Board in 2002, responsible for the development of a CPD framework and
pilot CPD course provision for IAI (2003-6)
IAPA representative on Council of the Discovery Programme Ltd 1996-1998
Former chairperson of the IAPA Standing Committee on Contract Archaeology
(1990-1996)
Chairperson of ICOMOS Irish Committee 1998-2001; member 1990 - present, and
Vice-Chair 1996-1998 and member of ICOMOS sub-committees on archaeology and as
Chair, oversaw the publication of Archaeology – Guidelines for Good Practice for
Developers, by the committee and published by the Heritage Council in 2001.
Nominated by the Heritage Council and appointed to the Directorate of the
Discovery Programme (2001-2005) in January 2001. Appointed (Heritage Council
nomination) for a second term (2006 – 2011).
Nominated by the Minister of Arts Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands and
appointed to the Standing Committee on Archaeology of the Heritage Council (2001
– 2005)
Member of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) 1995 - present
Elected to the Board of EAA in September 2004
Elected Vice-President of EAA in March 2005
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