Éanna Ní Lamhna

Éanna Ní Lamhna (born 1950, in County Louth) is an Irish biologist, environmental consultant, radio and television presenter, author and educator. She is one of the best-known public figures in Ireland in the area of nature and the environment, and was listed as one of Ireland's "Influential 100" in 2012.[2] She was president of the national environmental charity An Taisce (which has a statutory role in the planning process in Ireland) for five years in the 2000s.

Éanna Ní Lamhna
Born1950
Stabannon, Castlebellingham, County Louth
NationalityIrish
EducationConvent of Mercy, Dundalk, and University College Dublin,[1] later Ph.D.
Occupation(s)Entomologist, nature, environmental and sustainability consultant, author, broadcaster, teacher and lecturerr[1]
Employer(s)Self-employed consultant, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)[1]
Known for"Ireland's best known entomologist," books on nature in Dublin and Ireland, presenting on Mooney Goes Wild and Mooney and other RTÉ radio and television programmes, especially related to nature and the environment[1]

She was also President of the Tree Council of Ireland from 2012 - 2014 & 2020 - 2023. She currently serves as its Public Relations Officer.[3]

Early life

Ní Lamhna was born and reared in Stabannon, near Castlebellingham, County Louth. Her father, Peadar Ó Lamhna, was a teacher in the local national school, and taught her in 5th-7th class.[4]

Career

Ní Lamhna qualified in the biology area at UCD, including botany and microbiology and postgraduate studies in plant ecology. She pursued studies in the area of entomology, and also has a known interest in bats.[1] She also qualified to teach in Irish second-level schools, with the Higher Diploma in Education.[5][6] In later years, she also received a Ph.D.[7] Ní Lamhna went to work for State environmental agency An Foras Forbartha (now the EPA)[8] and played a key role in ground-breaking species distribution mapping carried out in Ireland by that body in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] In the same period she also served for some years as Hon. Secretary for the Irish part of the Botanical Society of the British Isles. In 1988 she took early retirement and began work as a consultant, educator, and in broadcasting.[5] She has worked extensively with primary and secondary schools, including on such programmes as Heritage in Schools and the Ringo Project, and as an inspector of trainee teachers. She has also lectured in the Dublin Institute of Technology, notably on Sustainable Development.[7]

Broadcasting

Ní Lamhna has worked on Mooney and its predecessor Mooney Goes Wild since 1995. She also featured on TV series Creature Feature and was a regular on children's programme The Den.[7] She has appeared multiple times on The Late Late Show and has also appeared on The Panel, Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels,[7] and other programmes.

In May 2020, Ní Lamhna released a two-part interview as part of David Oakes’ Trees A Crowd podcast.

Writing

Ní Lamhna has co-written, edited or written a number of books, including:

  • Provisional Distribution Atlas of Amphibians, Reptiles and Mammals in Ireland, 2nd edition (editor), Dublin: Foras Forbatha, 1979
  • Distribution Atlas of Butterflies in Ireland: European Invertebrate Survey (editor), Dublin: Foras Forbatha, 1980
  • Air Quality Surveys of various parts of Ireland (co-author), Dublin: Foras Forbatha, 1983-1988
  • Talking Wild: Wildlife on the Radio, Dublin: Townhouse, 2002
  • Science All Around Me (3, 4, 5, 6) (co-author), Dublin: Educational Company of Ireland, 2003-2004
  • Wild and Wonderful, Dublin: Townhouse, 2004
  • Straight Talking Wild: More Wildlife on the Radio, Dublin: Townhouse, 2006
  • Wild Dublin, Dublin: O'Brien Press, May 2008
  • Wildlife in Schools: A Book for Primary School Teachers, Navan: Meath Co. Council (with Laois and Monaghan Co. Councils), 2009

and papers including worksheets for schoolchildren and:

  • Oil Pollution Monitoring (beached birds) 1985–1986, Dublin: Foras Foratha, 1986
  • Terenure Wildlife, a baseline study of the Terenure area, 1992
  • Terenure Wildlife Management Plan, Terenure (Dublin): Terenure Tidy Towns Committee, 2006?

Charitable work

Ní Lamhna has a record of charitable events, including talks and guided walks for good causes. She was also president of An Taisce from 2004 to 2009.[9]

Public figure

Ní Lamhna is one of the best-known environmental figures in Ireland, and is at number 96 in the "Influential 100" list voted in by a broad panel for Ireland's Village Magazine in early 2012; she was one of just three environmental figures on that list (with Frank Convery and Frank McDonald).[2] She is also a member of the statutory Advisory Committee of Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency, having been nominated by the Irish Environmental Network for the 2010–2013 term.[10]

Personal life

Ní Lamhna is married to John Harding, and they have two sons and one daughter.[5] She has lived in Dublin since 1967. She is a fluent speaker of Irish, and does talks, broadcasts and school visits in Irish.

References
  1. http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/team.html Profiles of Mooney programme team, retrieved from RTÉ.ie 30 May 2012
  2. "The Influential 100, from the votes of a wide-ranging panel, compiled by Village Magazine, early 2012 (succeeding a list from 2009)". Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  3. "About Us". www.treecouncil.ie. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. Ní Lamhna, Éanna. "Wildlife in Schools" (PDF). The Heritage Council. Meath County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. Eanna Lamhna: The CV, Irish Independent, Sunday 18 July 2004, retrieved 30 May 2012
  6. "Profile of ni Lamhna at O'Brien Press site". O'Brien Press. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2016 – via Archive.org.
  7. Profile on Jigs 'n' Reels site, retrieved 30 May 2012
  8. Officially "The National Institute for Physical Planning and Construction Research" but in fact with a wide remit, with sections also dealing with nature, both flora and fauna, and also water, archaeological remains, and other matters.
  9. Eanna Ni Lamhna completes five years as President of An Taisce, retrieved from AnTaisce.org 30 May 2012 Archived 20 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. The Advisory Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland - role and membership
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