Former Department of Finance secretary general, John Moran, has been appointed chairman of the Hunt Museum in Limerick.

A native of Limerick, Mr Moran chartered the country’s re-entry into market-based funding following the bailout.

He will take over the position of Chair of the Museum from Niall Greene, who has stepped down after 23 years of service.

“The Museum is in a period of transition and has become more embedded than ever in the life of the city and the region,” Mr Moran said.

Hunt Museum director Dr Hugh Maguire said Mr Moran's "well regarded strategic capabilities and involvement in existing initiatives, notably the Limerick Economic Forum" should prove invaluable in advancing the Museum's aspirations.

Dr Maguire paid tribute to the considerable contribution made by outgoing chairman Niall Greene, as well as his predecessor Prof Roger Downer, in supporting the Museum’s work over many years.

Last May, Mr Moran resigned unexpectedly from his position as secretary general of the Department of Finance, only two years after taking command.

Mr Moran returned to Ireland in 2010 to head up wholesale banking supervision at the Central Bank. In March 2011 he was seconded to the Department of Finance, where he was second secretary in charge of banking before becoming secretary general in March 2012.

A lawyer by training and a former investment banker by trade, Mr Moran is credited for his deal-making skills.

In his time at the department he has overseen the purchase of a stake in Bank of Ireland by a group of international investors; the liquidation of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation; the sale of Irish Life to Canada’s Great-West Lifeco; and Ireland’s exit from the EU-IMF bailout without the need for a precautionary credit line.