Thom Breathnach

Travel @irishexaminer ✈️ 🌍 Say hello on Instagram 👋

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

Working with @ConservationFnd on their summer fundraising & annual report campaigns has been the absolute trip of 2020. Even if I never made it to California. Their projects protect millions of acres of native habitats across the US at a time when we've never needed them more.🌎

[The Conservation Fund @ConservationFnd]

You've seen it trend on social media, but here's the real good news story! In 2019, The Conservation Fund purchased 271 acres in Walker Canyon, CA, the site of a rare super bloom of poppies. Now this special place is protected for the future. Flower power! https://t.co/HFO3ha4d3u

[RTÉ News @rtenews]

Gardaí have recovered a male bullfinch during an operation targeting the illegal trapping and possession of wild birds in Limerick city
https://t.co/pTWCg2A0Na

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

This Ryanair sass style of social media posting is done, overplayed and inappropriate IMO. Consumers shouldn't have to pay more **for less** if they're not in a position to be rustling up ham sandwiches before a flight. It's our international airport. Not a trip to Croker.

[Dublin Airport @DublinAirport]

@lukeming Luke, there are 40+ outlets in the airport offering everything from sandwiches and scones to pizzas, curries, burgers and salads. And all at various price points to suit different budgets. If that’s not choice enough, you can also bring your own through security. 🥪

[Gemma @BC_Gemma]

Hoopoe at Knockadoon today - an exotic and infrequent visitor to Ireland. #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

@foxguardiansuk Great news and such incredible work. 👏

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

@Gypsypup13 @CadburyUK @AldiUK There is no contest compared to Aldi and their Moser Roth range is even tastier. Haven't bought Cadbury in years due to palm oil.

[dominic dyer @domdyer70]

This year's Crufts Best in Show winner Lee Cox was convicted of animal cruelty for keeping a cocker spaniel in terrible conditions. Lee triumphed at the annual event but it has now been revealed he was convicted over 20 years ago.

[Ireland's Blue Book @IrelandBlueBook]

"This may be one Ireland's more quintessential spa experiences" Read @ThomBreathnach review of the @IceHouseMayo in the @irishexaminer

Read now: https://t.co/uKnR4SDGDo

[Ireland's Blue Book @IrelandBlueBook]

"Is this iconic East Cork landmark the best seafood place stop in Munster" Read @ThomBreathnach review of @Ahernesyoughal in the @irishexaminer

Read the full review now:https://t.co/15aLW2tBkY

[Ecofact @EcofactEcology]

The Blackwater fish kill - failures in investigating and protecting an EU Special Area of Conservation. We need to move beyond “fisheries” on our Natura 2000 rivers.

This video shows the Blackwater River (Cork/Waterford) Special Area of Conservation (SAC) near Mallow, Co. Cork and features critically endangered Freshwater Pearl Mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera). I took these images during a survey I completed in August 2022 on the river.

A major fish kill occurred in this stretch of river earlier this month. It is one of the largest fish kills ever recorded in Ireland, with media reports estimating that over 30 km of river were affected. Thousands of fish were killed, and other wildlife was also impacted. Yet to date no cause of the fish kill has been identified. All of the areas affected were within the SAC designated area.

The Blackwater River (Cork/Waterford) SAC is designated for a range of aquatic species including Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), Freshwater Pearl Mussel, White-clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), Brook Lamprey (Lampetra planeri), River Lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis), and Twaite Shad (Alosa fallax). It is also designated for Otter (Lutra lutra), and the river corridor supports a range of other protected species including birds such as Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). Despite this, public reporting and official responses have focused almost exclusively on Brown Trout (Salmo trutta), a species that is not a qualifying interest of the SAC.

The investigation was led by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), but having a fisheries agency lead an investigation of a pollution event on a Natura 2000 river is itself part of the problem. The Blackwater is not only a fishery, but also a designated European site. For example, there are no “fisheries” for Freshwater Pearl Mussels, crayfish or lampreys in Ireland.

International best practice sets out clearly how fish kills should be investigated. The first 24 hours are critical. Water samples must be collected above, within and below the affected reach, as well as from tributaries, with controls from unaffected areas. Dead and dying fish and invertebrates should be collected immediately for pathology and toxicology. Mortality must be quantified using standardised transects and statistical sampling, not casual tallies.

On the Blackwater much of this did not happen. The 24-hour window for water sampling was lost, early speculation about natural causes was made without evidence, and mortality estimates were not carried out to scientific standards. There has been no reported assessment of impacts on Freshwater Pearl Mussels, lampreys or crayfish. There were reports of large numbers of “eels” being killed, and lampreys are often erroneously referred to as eels. Yet there does not seem to have been any formal investigation into how other non-fisheries species were affected.

This failure raises a prima facie breach of Article 6(2) of the EU Habitats Directive, which requires Member States to avoid the deterioration of natural habitats and the disturbance of species for which SACs are designated. A pollution event of this magnitude, coupled with the absence of a scientifically robust investigation, amounts to both ecological harm and a failure of governance.

An urgent independent review is now required into how fish kills are investigated in Ireland and how our Natura rivers are managed. Rivers such as the Blackwater cannot be treated as fisheries alone. They are legally protected ecosystems of European importance, and the State is obliged to manage and protect them as such.

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

@chilachilachi @esc_charts Very interesting as always. Also worth noting that there's over 100 million new Spotify users today versus two years ago making 2023 relatively even more impressive. https://t.co/90qGaSbEGq

[Ireland's Blue Book @IrelandBlueBook]

"Is this hideaway one of Killarney's best-kept secrets?" Read @ThomBreathnach review of the @CahernaneHouse in the @irishexaminer

Read now: https://t.co/Qt4y9SAmpL

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

@chilachilachi Later contest this year though? So that peak might play a part.

[Ireland's Blue Book @IrelandBlueBook]

"Is this handsome Blue Book spot the best-kept secret in the country?" @ThomBreathnach reviews @NewforgeHouse in the @irishexaminer
https://t.co/BBUGhH157H

[Clive Bailye @TWBFarms]

None of these farms exist

All are works of fiction by @Tesco supermarkets

This #FarmWashing practice should be made illegal, it deceives consumers and makes nonsense of @RedTractorFood traceability

Food labelling should be clear, country of origin should be clear #BuyBritish

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

@CollinRugg @_vandul You write that so dismissively and disrespectfully, almost from a place of misguided superiority. They are highly regarded conservationists.

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

@neilgdoherty Great job Neil!🙌✨

[Ukraine / Україна @Ukraine]

Believe in Ukraine. Stand with Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!

[Thom Breathnach @ThomBreathnach]

@Nightwalk_32 @eurosport That's the number of points they each won in the tie-break game (man braucht sieben zu gewinnen)

[Irish Examiner @irishexaminer]

I won the Faroe Islands volunteer tourism lottery — here's how I got on https://t.co/6PLZgT0uIh

[Stay Beyond Green @StayBeyondGreen]

POV: You get a front seat to meet Florida's locals in the everglades before heading back to a sustainable beachfront paradise, @palmshotelmiami in partnership with @Wildlimeadv . Learn more: https://t.co/eK2KoXtQYJ

📸: @ThomBreathnach