Eilish McGuinness

Eilish McGuinness became Chief Executive in January 2022, having previously been The National Lottery Heritage Fund's Executive Director, Business Delivery.

Eilish has worked in heritage all her professional life and has extensive experience across the sector and the breadth of the UK’s heritage. 

She joined the Heritage Fund in 1996 and has held a variety of roles – both operational and strategic – including Regional Manager North East, Head of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Major Grants and Special Programmes. 

Prior to joining the Heritage Fund, Eilish worked with Historic Scotland, Historic Monuments & Buildings Branch, Northern Ireland and in the heritage sector in Ireland. 

She has a degree in History of Art and Archaeology from University College Dublin, and an MA from Queen’s University Belfast, where she was a junior research fellow in the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University Belfast.