John is an experienced conservation ecologist with interests in habitat restoration, avian predator-prey relationships, and conservation genetics. He has worked in Sub-Saharan Africa on conservation and research projects for the last 20 years. He is a former member of An Garda Siochana, serving as a Detective, Crime Scene Investigator and Head of the Garda National Forensic Coordination Office. In 2017 he returned to full time education, completing a MSc and PhD at the School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin. He joined the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at the Atlantic Technological University Galway, in October 2025, as a Post Doctoral Researcher working with the Breeding Waders European Innovation Partnership (EIP).