Michael O’Donnell, of MothsIreland, received the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s Distinguished Recorder Award 2026, for his outstanding contribution to biological recording, at a small ceremony in Wicklow on August 12th.
In 2002, Michael was accidently introduced to moth recording while attending a Dragonfly Ireland identification course. As the weather was not conducive to dragonfly recording, one of the course leaders put out a moth trap. This revealed the wonders of moth trapping and Michael was hooked! Two weeks later, he had his own moth trap. Over the following 24 years, he has become one of the country’s most active moth recorders, having recorded over 50,000 moths of more than 800 species, a remarkable achievement.
Since 2018, Michael managed the MothsIreland database, processing 1.2 million records and adding them to the dataset, which currently holds almost 1.7 million records. Michael personally validated about 400,000 records!
Speaking at the award ceremony, Liam Lysaght, CEO of the National Biodiversity Data Centre, said: “MothsIreland is a fantastic example of how groups and volunteers can contribute to our knowledge of Ireland’s biodiversity. Thanks to their systematic recording, Ireland now has a huge database on the distribution of moth species, and moths are now one of the best recorded taxonomic groups in Ireland. These data can now feed into Atlases and Red Lists, providing tangible evidence to inform policy that will lead to conservation action.
‘We are really dependent on the goodwill of groups and volunteers who publish their data through the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Thanks to Michael, and the successful collaboration between MothsIreland and the National Biodiversity Data Centre, our knowledge of Irish moths has increased tremendously. We are extremely grateful to Michael O’Donnell who has been so willing to share his expertise, his time and his passion for biodiversity.”
Michael O’Donnell receiving his award from Dr Liam Lysaght, CEO, National Biodiversity Data Centre
