The Hunt Museum in Limerick is to ask a retired senior judge to lead an investigation into claims that some of its collection may have been looted by the Nazis.
The judge will be asked to consult with the International Council of Museums, a UNESCO-backed body, to decide who should carry out detailed investigative work.
The inquiry follows allegations by the Simon Wiesenthal centre that the couple who amassed the collection, the late John Hunt and his late wife,' Gertrude, had business relationships with major dealers in art looted by the Nazis. These were raised in a letter to the President, Mrs McAleese.
The museum board held a special meeting yesterday after the Minister for Arts, Mr O'Donoghue, asked it to take action about the allegations "insofar as they relate to the collection".
The museum chairman, Mr George Stacpoole, who last week dismissed the Wiesenthal allegations as "hearsay", said yesterday that the concerns must be given serious consideration.
A senior academic and a museum professional from outside Ireland will be asked to assist the judge. The museum director, Ms Virginia Teehan, said she hoped to announce the names of the team within a week.
The board will also ask the Society of Archivists to nominate a professional expert to compile a detailed list of its archive.
Ms Teehan said the investigation was supported by the Hunts' children, John jnr and Trudi, who have rejected the allegations.
The museum wanted to address the allegations "in a spirit of co-operation and professionalism", she said.
But while Ms Teehan said the appointment of a judge would give the inquiry "the appropriate level of objectivity that it deserves", a museum consultant who claims to have linked the Hunts' business associates to art agents for Hitler and Göring said she would not co-operate with the inquiry.
Ms Erin Gibbons, a Dublin-based museum consultant and archaeologist, said it was inappropriate to have the judge report directly to the museum. "This museum is funded by the public purse and some of the collection it holds was acquired by the State," she said. "The Government should establish an independent investigation immediately."
The Wiesenthal centre's international liaison director, Dr Shimon Samuels, said the process "seems to be moving ahead". However, Dr Samuels wants the board to allow a nominee from the centre to join the investigation.
Ms Teehan said this would have to be considered by the museum board. She hoped those with information would co-operate.
