Biodiversity Officers & Heritage Officers
Local Authority Biodiversity Officers work at city and county
level collecting data on biodiversity, carrying out
conservation projects, developing policy, providing advice
and information and raising awareness.
Biodiversity Officer Contact Details:
| Local Authority | Name | Email Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clare County Council | Barry O’Loughlin | boloughlin@clarecoco.ie | 065 6846232 |
| * Cork City Council (Parks) | Rosemarie McDonald | rosemarie_mcdonald@corkcity.ie | 021 4924000 |
| Cork City Council (Planning) | Usna Keating | usna_keating@corkcity.ie | 021 4924000 |
| *Dublin City Council | Lorraine Bull | lorraine.bull@dublincity.ie | 01 222 3325/ 087 627 9025 |
| * Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council | Anne Murray | annemurray@dlrcoco.ie | 01 205 4700 |
| * Fingal County Council | Hans Visser | Hans.Visser@fingal.ie | (01) 890 5000 |
| * Galway City Council | Paula Kearney | paula.kearney@galwaycity.ie | 091 536400 |
| Galway County Council | Rosina Joyce | rjoyce@galwaycoco.ie | 091 509000 |
| Kerry County Council | Eleanor Turner | eleanor.turner@kerrycoco.ie | 066-7183848 |
| Kildare County Council | Meabh Boylan | mboylan@kildarecoco.ie | 045 980761 |
| Kilkenny County Council | Bernadette Moloney | bernadette.moloney@kilkennycoco.ie | 056 7794487 |
| Leitrim County Council | Rebeccah Cogan | rcogan@leitrimcoco.ie | (071) 9620005 |
| Longford County Council | Adam Mulvihill | amulvihill@longfordcoco.ie | 043 334 33 00 |
| Louth County Council | Helen Hanratty | helen.hanratty@louthcoco.ie | |
| Meath County Council | Ben Malone | bmalone@meathcoco.ie | 046-9097000 |
| Monaghan County Council | Patricia McCreesh | patricia.mccreesh@monaghancoco.ie | |
| Offaly County Council | Ricky Whelan | rwhelan@offalycoco.ie | 057 8664000 |
| Sligo County Council | Ruth Hanniffy | rhanniffy@sligococo.ie | 071 911 4480 |
| Westmeath County Council | Christina Sweeney | Christina.Sweeney@westmeathcoco.ie | 044-9332000 |
| Wicklow County Council | Position vacant |
* Position funded entirely by the relevant City/County Council
City and County Biodiversity Officers are being employed by Local Authorities in collaboration with the Heritage Council and supported by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Biodiversity officers work closely with heritage officers and other professionals within the local authority, as well as with the wider community in each city and county. Their role is diverse and will be defined by individual local authority preferences, but with a core focus on strategic planning and collaboration.
Their responsibilities include:
- Creation of Local Biodiversity Forum
- Writing Local Biodiversity Plan
- Research, surveys and data collection
- Providing advice on biodiversity for local authority staff
- Community engagement and raising awareness
- Development of strategies, policies, and projects relating to wildlife, habitats and biodiversity
- Provision of biodiversity expertise to groups such as the Heritage Forum, Climate Action Team.
The breadth of these responsibilities highlight the pivotal role that biodiversity officers play in promoting awareness, knowledge and appreciation of local biodiversity through their work.
Training and Development
In addition to financial support, the Heritage Council provide technical, developmental, professional, and training support for biodiversity officers appointed to local authorities. This will be delivered through the Biodiversity Officer Training and Development Programme. Training will be provided in relation to County Biodiversity Plans, habitat and species survey and research, consultation and environmental legislation.
County Heritage Officers play a key role in promoting
heritage awareness, developing policy and
providing advice and information on local
as well as national heritage issues.
Heritage Officer Contact Details:
| Local Authority | Heritage Officer | Telephone | |
| Carlow County Council | Dr Eoin Sullivan | 059 9129705 | esullivan@carlowcoco.ie. |
| Cavan County Council | Anne Marie Ward | 049 437 8614 | amcurley@cavancoco.ie |
| Clare County Council | Recruitment underway | 065 684 6408 / 682 1616 | cmcguire@clarecoco.ie |
| Cork City Council | Niamh Twomey | 021 492 4018 | niamh_twomey@corkcity.ie |
| Cork County Council | Conor Nelligan | 021 428 5905 | conor.nelligan@corkcoco.ie |
| Donegal County Council | Dr. Joe Gallagher | 074 917 2576 | j.gallagher@donegalcoco.ie |
| Dublin City Council | Charles Duggan | 01 222 2856 / 222 3090 | charles.duggan@dublincity.ie |
| Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council | Deirdre Black | 01 2054868 | dblack@dlrcoco.ie |
| Fingal County Council | Christine Baker | 01-890 5691 | christine.baker@fingal.ie |
| Galway City Council | Dr. Jim Higgins | 091 526 574 | jim.higgins@galwaycity.ie |
| Galway County Council | Marie Mannion | 091 509 198 | mmannion@galwaycoco.ie |
| Kerry County Council | Victoria McCarthy | 066 7183582 | VMcCarthy@kerrycoco.ie |
| Kildare County Council | Bridget Loughlin | 045 980 791 | bloughlin@kildarecoco.ie |
| Kilkenny County Council | Regina Fitzpatrick | 056 779 4925 | regina.fitzpatrick@kilkennycoco.ie / https://www.facebook.com/kilkenny.heritage/ |
| Laois County Council | Thomas Carolan | 057 8674348 | tcarolan@laoiscoco.ie |
| Leitrim County Council | Sarah Malone | 071 9620005 | smalone@leitrimcoco.ie |
| Limerick County Council | Tom O’Neill | 061 557229 | heritage@limerick.ie |
| Longford County Council | Mairead Ní Chonghaile | 043 334 0731 / 334 1124 | mnichonghaile@longfordcoco.ie |
| Louth County Council | Brendan McSherry | 042 9392969 | brendan.mcsherry@louthcoco.ie |
| Mayo County Council | Dr Deirdre Cunningham | 094 906 4092 | dcunningham@mayococo.ie |
| Meath County Council | Dr. Loreto Guinan | 046 909 7507 / 909 7500 | lguinan@meathcoco.ie |
| Monaghan County Council | Recruitment underway | 047 73722 | heritage@monaghancoco.ie shclerkin@monaghancoco.ie |
| Offaly County Council | Amanda Pedlow | 057 934 6839 / 934 6800/ Remote working 086 8530350 | heritage@offalycoco.ie |
| Roscommon County Council | Nollaig Feeney | 090 663 7100 / 663 7135 | nfeeney@roscommoncoco.ie |
| Sligo County Council | Siobhán Ryan | 071 911 4482 / 9111 111 | sryan@sligococo.ie |
| South Dublin County Council | Dr. Rosaleen Dwyer | 01 414 9222 / 414 9000 | rdwyer@sdublincoco.ie |
| Tipperary County Council | Roisin O’Grady | 076 106 6213 | roisin.ogrady@tipperarycoco.ie |
| Waterford County Council | Bernadette Guest | 051 849 668 | bguest@waterfordcouncil.ie |
| Westmeath County Council | Melanie McQuade | 044 9332098/087 6074496 | Melanie.mcquade@westmeathcoco.ie |
| Wexford County Council | Catherine McLoughlin | 053 9196453 | catherine.mcloughlin@wexfordcoco.ie |
| Wicklow County Council | Deirdre Burns | 0404 20100 / 20191 | dburns@wicklowcoco.ie |