All Posts by Kieran Flood

About the Author

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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
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 […]

Continue reading
Feb 03

General Knowledge on Bees

General Knowledge on Bees Honeybees can recognize and remember human faces, to them we look like strange flowers. They can build respect and trust with people they remember! Bees are also very capable of showing love and affection. Bees are also self-aware animals, meaning they are aware that they are bees, which not all animals […]

Continue reading
Feb 03

Northern Dark Honey Bee

Northern Dark Honey Bee Where do They Live? These honey bees live in hollow trees or inside the rooves of houses. They can be found all across Northern Europe. The strain we have here in Ireland is a native species. A large amount of them also live in manmade bee hives as most of the […]

Continue reading
Feb 03

White-Tailed Bumblebee

White-Tailed Bumblebee Where do They Live? These fuzzy friends tend to live in farmlands, fields, a garden, or anywhere where they have access to flowers to feed on. You can find them all across Europe and even Japan.   They find old abandoned mice nests to create their own underground nest that can house up […]

Continue reading
Jan 28

Padraic’s Blog: What next for Forestry?

What next for Forestry? January 28th 2023 Padraic Fogarty It has been a dramatic week in the history of our long and tortured relationship with trees in Ireland. The protests, the outrage among opposition politicians, the people sending emails to their TDs, even the government ministers admitting things need to change, including the State buying […]

Continue reading
Jan 24

Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes comments from Tánaiste that the State should buy land for rewilding

Press Release  Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes comments from Tánaiste that the State should buy land for rewilding 24th January 2023   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the comments from Tánaiste Micheál Martin, which were reported in today’s Irish Independent newspaper (24/1/23), that the State “must purchase land for native woodlands and for simple rewilding at […]

Continue reading
Jan 14

Time to remove the deer from the Park

Time to remove the deer from the Park January 14th 2023 I have written before about the need for rewilding the Phoenix Park, Dublin’s largest urban green space. I bemoan the intensive level of management by the Office of Public Works which minimises it’s biodiversity value: dead or fallen trees cleared away, poor management of […]

Continue reading
Dec 30

Looking back on 2022

Looking back on 2022 December 30th 2022 Are we turning a corner? Or are we stuck in a dead end? Here’s a round up of what happened, and what didn’t, in 2022. February saw the launch of ‘Fair Seas’, a coalition of groups, including the Irish Wildlife Trust, dedicated to the protection of 30% of […]

Continue reading
Dec 19

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes agreement at COP15 but warns there is an urgent need for implementation

Press Release  19th December 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes agreement at COP15 but warns there is an urgent need for implementation   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the announcement this morning (December 19th) that the signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity have concluded a new deal to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilise global ecosystems. […]

Continue reading