Posted on: 17 December 2021
Earlier this week the Trinity community lost a much-loved colleague when Dr Aoibheann Gaughran passed away after a sudden illness.
Aoibheann was a research fellow in the School of Natural Sciences, where her positivity, energy and passion for her work proved an inspiration to her fellow researchers and to all the staff and students who had the pleasure of working with and being taught by her.
Aoibheann was particularly interested in wildlife, ecology and conservation and was especially well known for her work with badgers – Ireland’s iconic creatures and their roaming habits were the focus of her PhD in the Department of Zoology.
You can watch a clip of Aoibheann talking about this work below:
Thanks to Aoibheann’s hard work, we now have a greatly improved understanding of badger ecology in Ireland, which is informing more efficient and effective bovine TB management strategies, including badger vaccine delivery and farm biosecurity.
Working with colleagues, Aoibheann had recently completed a year-long biodiversity audit of Áras an Uachtaráin and its 130-acre grounds, which had been commissioned by President Michael D Higgins through the Office of Public Works, and she was working on a similar audit of Trinity’s 47-acre campus and satellite properties.
Described by those closest to her in Trinity as a wonderful friend and colleague, and as someone who brought such a light to her School that her absence is already being keenly felt, Aoibheann will be hugely missed in College and beyond. She will not be forgotten.
