Conor was a recently qualified Zoologist when he joined the project team at Boora in 1996.
His field-work and research led to the first description of the life history of the grey partridge in Ireland.
From 2000-2001 Conor joined a research project on grey partridge in Czech Republic, whilst writing up a PhD for his work on the Irish grey partridge.
He then moved to the United Kingdom, first to work with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Severn Trent Water on a tree sparrow project, and since 2003 he joined the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) as a Conservation Officer.
Conor has remained with BASC, becoming land management policy officer in 2007 and policy development manager in 2009. In all those years Conor has kept regular and close contact with the project staff and the Trust, with annual visits to the Boora to advise and comment on the development of the conservation effort, as well as giving presentations on behalf of the project at international conferences.
Dr Brendan Kavanagh can be rightly regarded as the father of wild game management in Ireland. From the beginning of his work on Grey Partridge in 1990 to the present day he has been at the forefront of the conservation of Ireland’s native game birds. It was in 1990 while surveying cutaway bog for Bord na Móna that Brendan became aware the of the perilous plight of wild partridge.
He initiated and co-ordinated a national survey which highlighted that the species was on the brink of extinction. Having secured funding from NPWS a study was carried out to identify the causes of the decline. Brendan’s work led to the leasing of 400 ha from Bord na Móna in 1996 and this was the birth of the Boora project which is still going 14 years later. This led to the formation of the Irish Grey Partridge Conservation Trust in 2002 in an effort to support the on-going work in Boora.
Brendan’s work is internationally recognised and he has collaborated in research with major universities, national hunting associations, conservation bodies and governmental bodies. As well as having many scientific papers published, he has also supervised many research and undergraduate studies.
Brendan is currently working in Bahrain as an Associate Professor in Human Biology. He however keeps in close contact with the trust and guides our conservation strategy.
Agriculturalist, Environmentalist and Agricultural Ecologist.
Michael Martyn is the Agricultural Adviser to the Irish Grey Partridge Conservation Project at Boora. He is an experienced agricultural adviser, with a keen interest in the conservation of the grey partridge in Ireland.
Having specialized in crop advisory for many years, in the last fifteen years Michael has been deeply involved in both conservation planning and hands on management of conservation sites. The work entails management of habitats and species listed in the EU Habitats and Birds Directives and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) as well as the National Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) under which protection is afforded to the most vulnerable of them.
In addition other non-designated sites throughout the island of Ireland are managed to protect their conservation interests.
