Éanna Ní Lamhna
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Éanna Ní Lamhna (born 1950) 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. She was president of the national environmental charity
An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; "An Taisce" meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is ...
(which had a mission to celebrate and protect Ireland’s natural and cultural heritage) for five years in the 2000s, and currently has an ex-officio seat on its Council. She was also President of the
Tree Council of Ireland The Tree Council of Ireland is a non-profit environmental organisation in Ireland. It was established in 1985 with the purpose of promoting the planting, establishment, and conservation of trees and woodlands throughout Ireland. A voluntary or ...
from 2012 - 2014 & 2020 - 2023. She currently serves as its Public Relations Officer. In November 2024, Ní Lamhna was awarded an honorary DSc by University of Galway for services to science and science communication. In December 2024, Ní Lamhna was nominated by An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, as a candidate for the
2025 Seanad election An indirect election to the 27th Seanad took place in January 2025, following the 2024 general election to the 34th Dáil in November 2024. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as its lower house. Polls clo ...
on the Cultural and Educational vocational panel. She was not elected to the Seanad.


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.


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. She also qualified to teach in Irish second-level schools, with the Higher Diploma in Education.Eanna Lamhna: The CV, Irish Independent, Sunday 18 July 2004, retrieved 30 May 2012
/ref> In later years, she also received a Ph.D.
/ref> Ní Lamhna went to work for State environmental agency An Foras Forbartha (now the EPA) and played a key role in ground-breaking species distribution mapping carried out in Ireland by that body in the 1970s and 1980s. 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 The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Botani ...
. In 1988 she took early retirement and began work as a consultant, educator, and in broadcasting. 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 Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The insti ...
, notably on Sustainable Development.


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''. She has appeared multiple times on '' The Late Late Show'' and has also appeared on ''The Panel'', ''Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels'', and other programmes. In May 2020, Ní Lamhna released a two-part interview as part of
David Oakes Rowan David Oakes (born 14 October 1983) is an English actor and environmentalist. He is best known for his roles in the series ''The Pillars of the Earth (miniseries), The Pillars of the Earth'', ''The Borgias (2011 TV series), The Borgias'', ...
'
Trees A Crowd ''Trees A Crowd'' is a natural history podcast presented by actor David Oakes. Creation and reception of the podcast Oakes, as an environmentalist and an ambassador for the Woodland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, started ''Trees A Crowd'' as a ...
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 An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; "An Taisce" meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is ...
from 2004 to 2009.Eanna Ni Lamhna completes five years as President of An Taisce, retrieved from AnTaisce.org 30 May 2012


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). 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.The Advisory Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland - role and membership
/ref>


Personal life

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


References


External links



* ttp://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/team.html Second section is personal profile (from profiles of the ''Mooney'' teamat RTÉ.ie) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Lamhna, Eanna 1950 births 20th-century Irish botanists 21st-century Irish botanists Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Irish children's television presenters Irish entomologists People from Castlebellingham Radio personalities from the Republic of Ireland RTÉ Radio 1 presenters RTÉ television presenters Irish women radio presenters Irish women television presenters Irish women botanists Women entomologists 21st-century Irish women scientists 20th-century Irish women scientists Scientists from County Louth Broadcasters from County Louth