Éanna Ní Lamhna

Éanna Ní Lamhna
Born Éanna Ní Lamhna
1950
Stabannon, Castlebellingham, County Louth
Residence Terenure, Dublin[1]
Nationality Irish
Education Convent of Mercy, Dundalk, and University College Dublin,[2] later Ph.D.
Occupation Entomologist, nature, environmental and sustainability consultant, author, broadcaster, teacher and lecturerr[2]
Employer Self-employed consultant, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)[2]
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[2]

Éanna Ní Lamhna (born 1950, 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.[3] 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.

She was also President of the Tree Council of Ireland from 2012 to 2014.

Early life

Ní Lamhna was born and reared in Stabannon, near Castlebellingham, Co. 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.[2] She also qualified to teach in Irish second-level schools, with the Higher Diploma in Education.[5][1] In later years, she also received a Ph.D.[6] Ní Lamhna went to work for State environmental agency An Foras Forbartha (now the EPA)[7] and played a key role in ground-breaking species distribution mapping carried out in Ireland by that body in the 1970s and 1980s.[2] 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.[1] 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.[6]

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.[6] She has appeared multiple times on The Late Late Show and has also appeared on The Panel, Celebrity Jigs 'n' Reels,[6] and other programmes.

Writing

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

and papers including worksheets for schoolchildren and:

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.[8]

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).[3] 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.[9]

Personal life

Ní Lamhna is married to John Harding, and they have two sons and one daughter.[1] 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. 1 2 3 4 Eanna Lamhna: The CV, Irish Independent, Sunday 18 July 2004, retrieved 30 May 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/team.html Profiles of Mooney programme team, retrieved from RTE.ie 30 May 2012
  3. 1 2 The Influential 100, from the votes of a wide-ranging panel, compiled by Village Magazine, early 2012 (succeeding a list from 2009)
  4. ↑ Ní Lamhna, Éanna. "Wildlife in Schools" (PDF). The Heritage Council. Meath County Council. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Profile of ni Lamhna at O'Brien Press site, retrieved 4 June 2012
  6. 1 2 3 4 Profile on Jigs 'n' Reels site, retrieved 30 May 2012
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Eanna Ni Lamhna completes five years as President of An Taisce, retrieved from AnTaisce.org 30 May 2012
  9. ↑ The Advisory Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland - role and membership

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.