All Posts by Kieran Flood

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May 28

Nature Can’t Vote – You Can

Nature Can’t Vote but You Can.  Published 28th May 2024   The European and Local elections are coming up on June 7th and we are encouraging everyone to get out and vote. Nature cannot vote but you can, so why not use your vote to help protect and restore nature.    Sometimes the EU can seem […]

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Dec 24

The Irish Wildlife Trust is hiring a Finance & Compliance Officer

The Irish Wildlife Trust is hiring a Finance & Compliance Officer Job Title: Finance & Compliance Officer Organisation: The Irish Wildlife Trust Location: 8 Cabra Road, Dublin 7, Ireland Hours: 3 to 5 days per week Salary Rate: €35,000-38,000 per year pro rata Start date: As soon as possible Closing date for applications: Monday 22nd […]

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Jul 27

Message from the Board of the Irish Wildlife Trust

This is the text of a message sent to IWT members from the Board of Directors following the resignation of our staff member Pádraic Fogarty. Interested members of the public beyond our own IWT membership have contacted us about this incident so we have decided to publish this message here for public reference.   Message […]

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Jul 15

Opinion: Drift of the farm orgs

OPINION Drift of the farm orgs By Pádraic Fogarty 15th July 2023 This blog represents the views of the author and is not an Irish Wildlife Trust position.   Last May, I found myself on the farm of Donie Regan in the west of County Offaly. The open day was organised by the Farm Carbon […]

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Jul 10

Opinion: Nature Restoration must be supported by Irish MEPs

OPINION Nature Restoration must be supported by Irish MEPs By Damien Thomson Political Advisor to the Left grouping in the European Parliament on environment & climate, July 10th 2023   On Wednesday (July 12th), there will be an extraordinarily decisive vote in the European Parliament which will decide whether we have a chance of overcoming […]

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Jul 01

Three years in government

Three years in government Pádraic Fogarty 1st July 2023 The Government recently celebrated three years in office, how is it doing in meeting nature objectives? I wrote a blog after its first anniversary in 2021 and the same terms and conditions apply to the one you are about to read. A year is not a […]

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Jun 17

Fair seas but few whales

Fair Seas, few whales Pádraic Fogarty 17th of June 2023 The south west-coast of Ireland has been identified by Fair Seas as an area which warrants designation as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Irish government has committed to protecting 30% of our territorial waters in MPAs by 2030 and legislation to allow for this […]

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Jun 03

Big parties are failing to lead

Big parties are failing to lead Pádraic Fogarty June 3rd 2023 Biodiversity week came to a close last week with dozens of events around the country celebrating our natural heritage. It’s hard to know if the irony was lost on some politicians that instead of spending time reflecting on our connection with nature they joined […]

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May 24

Irish Wildlife Trust calls on the Government to send the Citizens’ Assembly report to an Oireachtas committee to fast-track action for nature

Press Release Irish Wildlife Trust calls on the Government to send the Citizens’ Assembly report to an Oireachtas committee to fast-track action for nature 24th May 2023    The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is today calling on the Government to ensure the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss are fast-tracked for action. A […]

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May 20

Bringing back the sturgeon

Bringing back the sturgeon Pádraic Fogarty 21st May 2023 Dublin’s wonderful Natural History Museum has a lot to say about our sea fish. The Victorian cabinets that line the walls of the hall on the ground floor speak to not only the great diversity of marine life that once abounded around our coasts but also […]

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May 19

Ireland and UK conservation groups unite to call on the Government to reintroduce the sturgeon – Ireland’s lost ‘dinosaur fish’

Press Release Ireland and UK conservation groups unite to call on the Government to reintroduce the sturgeon – Ireland’s lost ‘dinosaur fish’ 19th May 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) and the Blue Marine Foundation in the UK have jointly published a report, ‘Restoring the Sturgeon to Irish Waters’ urging the Government to examine the […]

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May 06

Ireland in 2050

Ireland in 2050 Pádraic Fogarty 6th May 2023 2050 is only 27 years away. It’s at the same point in the future as 1996 is in the past, when Hotmail launched on the internet, Mission Impossible, Twister and Independence Day were in cinemas and the ‘Macarena’ was driving people on to, and away from, the […]

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Apr 22

People and wildife and dogs

People and wildlife and dogs Pádraic Fogarty April 22nd 2023 In the greater scheme of things, owning a dog is probably seen as at the insignificant end of the biodiversity crisis wedge. Owners of harmless-looking lapdogs or lumbering retrievers do not typically see their beloved pets as destroyers of ecosystems. I’m not a dog owner […]

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Apr 08

Will the Citizens’ Assembly change anything?

Will the Citizens’ Assembly change anything? Pádraic Fogarty 8th April 2023 This week’s publication of the Citizens’ Assembly report on Biodiversity Loss is a vindicating moment for environmental NGOs. Over the past year, 100 randomly selected citizens were given the task of making comprehensive recommendations on how we can reverse biodiversity loss, even though many […]

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Apr 05

Press Release: Citizens’ Assembly report on Biodiversity Loss a damning indictment of the State’s failure to protect nature

Press Release Citizens’ Assembly report on Biodiversity Loss a damning indictment of the State’s failure to protect nature 05th April 2023   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the publication today (April 5th 2023) of the final report and recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. It confirms that the State has abjectly failed […]

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Mar 26

Goodbye to the Hills

Goodbye to the Hills Pádraic Fogarty 26th March 2023 At a conference in Galway dedicated to the management of Ireland’s uplands regions, speaker after speaker raised concerns about the ecological degradation caused by over-grazing, the low returns for farmers on their sheep as well as the need for diversification and more native woodland in the […]

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Mar 11

The Lawless OPW

The Lawless OPW March 11th 2023 by Pádraic Fogarty Emo Court in County Laois is a splendid example of neo-classical architecture completed in the mid-1800s and set within mature trees and manicured gardens. It was also, until recently, home to a nationally important roost for brown long-eared bats. Emo Court is one of dozens of […]

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Mar 06

Press Release: State failing to stop destruction of “protected” bogs

Press Release 06th March 2023 State failing to stop destruction of “protected” bogs   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling for greater law enforcement after new data, released after appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner, revealed that illegal turf-cutting remains a significant problem in Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designated for raised […]

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Feb 25

Bringing back lost species

Bringing back lost species February 25th 2023 Ireland’s tattered ecosystems are so far down the path of collapse that most people have got used to the idea that our island is not the place for wild nature that can simply be allowed to look after itself. I am used to hearing that what we have […]

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Feb 11

The Nitrates Bomb

The Nitrates Bomb January 11th 2023 The joke in 2008, in the forestorm of the economic meltdown that resulted in such pain for Ireland went like this: what’s the difference between Iceland and Ireland? One letter and six months. It wasn’t funny then either. Today it could be reframed: what’s the difference between Ireland and […]

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Feb 03

The Ashy Mining Solitary Bee

The Ashy Mining Solitary Bee What is a Solitary Bee? Solitary bees are much more common in Ireland than bumble or honey bees. They don’t live in big colonies or have a social system with a queen.   Where do They Live? They simply make their own nests inn hollow stems or they make tiny […]

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