About me.

Born in Dublin, I studied for my Bachelor of Science degree and Doctorate in University College Dublin, researching the ecology and post-glacial history of the Mediterranean Heath (Erica erigena) in the west of Ireland. 

A three year spell as Post-doctoral Fellow in the Botany Department of Trinity College Dublin followed, in the course of which I lectured and undertook research work on bogs in Sweden and Co. Offaly.  

My interest in the conservation of Irish bogs led to my voluntary, and later, full-time involvement in the Save the Bogs Campaign of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC). In my role as Chief Executive of IPCC I guided the growth and development of the organisation over 15 years, making it one of Ireland’s largest and most successful environmental non-profit groups. 

Since 2004 I have worked as an private environmental consultant, working on a variety of environmental contracts, many focusing on wetlands and especially fen research projects in Ireland, including the design and development of the Guidelines for a National Fen Survey of Ireland methodology; the NPWS National Fen Study and a variety of wetland surveys in County Kerry, Waterford, Clare, Kildare, Louth, Monaghan, Sligo, Wicklow, Leitrim, Longford, Kilkenny, Galway, Laois, Wexford, Tipperary & Roscommon and the Scientific Conservation of Raised Bogs in Ireland for NPWS. Other projects I have led include the Map of Irish Wetlands, impact assessments of various development proposals; pre and post - construction monitoring; flora surveys; invasive species surveys; biodiversity surveys of three Kerry towns; restoration and management of habitats and baseline ecological surveys. I have particular expertise in botany, wetland ecology, peatland management and data management. I have developed data management systems for a number of national projects including The Pearl Mussel Project EIP, FarmPEAT EIP, ACRES Co-operation Projects, Burren Programme and Hare’s Corner - Burrenbeo Trust.

I am a Chartered Ecologist and a full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).

I am the author of numerous books and scientific reports and have published extensively in scientific literature.  

As an environmental scientist, I participated in the establishment of Wetland Surveys with Dr Patrick Crushell in 2007.