A FORMER adviser to the late Martin McGuinness has been appointed to the board of the Education Authority (EA).
Paul Kavanagh is one of three new people nominated by Sinn Féin.
He has been a member of the board of governors of Lumen Christi College in Derry for several years.
The Department of Education said Mr Kavanagh brought to the EA board experience of communication and influencing skills, developing and maintaining cooperative working relationships within a corporate governance framework and decision making as a school governor.
Some parents initially voiced concerns about appointing the convicted IRA bomber to Lumen's governors in 2012.
Mr Kavanagh later lost his special adviser job as a result of new laws banning anyone with a serious offence holding such a post.
Sinn Féin last night said Mr Kavanagh "has a wealth of experience in education, government and policy development".
The party also nominated Angela Mervyn from the West Belfast Partnership Board and recently retired principal of Corpus Christi College in west Belfast, Frank Maskey.
Meanwhile, the NI Commission for Catholic Education, which represents the interests of trustees of maintained schools on the EA, nominated Gillian McGrath. She is the recently retired Director of Education in the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools.
