Biography:
Oisín enrolled in UCC in May to undertake a PhD in forest bird diversity as a member of the PLANFORBIO research team. He received an honours degree in Zoology from the University of Glasgow in 2002 and a Master’s from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 2005. Following this he worked for a UK based NGO in Tanzania where he was part of a team tasked with conducting rapid biodiversity surveys of forest patches.

Oisín then worked for 15 months in Quercus, Queen’s University Belfast, where he held the position of Research Technician. During this time he was part of a team that carried out Irish Hare surveys in 2006 and 2007 and was involved in a diverse range of projects ranging from radio tracking of ferrets on RathlinIsland, to work on priority species such as the pearl mussel, marsh fritillary butterfly and one-sided wintergreen. He co-authored several reports arising from these projects.

Publications:

• Sweeney, O.F.McD., Wilson, M.W., Irwin, S., Kelly, T.C. and O'Halloran, J. (2010)  Are bird density, species richness and community structure similar between native woodlands and non-native plantations in an area with a generalist bird fauna? Biodiversity and Conservation, 19 (8): 2329-2342.
• Sweeney, O.F.McD., Wilson, M., Irwin, S., Kelly, T.C. and O'Halloran, J. (2010)  Breeding bird communities of second rotation plantations at different stages of the forest cycle. Bird Study, 57 (3): 301-314.
• Sweeney, O.F.McD., Martin, R.D., Irwin, S., Kelly, T.C., O'Halloran, J., Wilson, M.W. and McEvoy, P.M. (2010)  A lack of large-diameter logs and snags characterises dead wood forests in Irish forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 259: 2056-2064.
• Beatty, G.E., McEvoy, P.M., Sweeney, O. and Provan, J. (2008) Range-edge effects promote clonal growth in peripheral populations of the one-sided wintergreen Orthilia secunda. Diversity and Distributions, 14: 546-555.
• Provan, J., McEvoy, P & Sweeney, O. (2007) Conservation status and genetics of the one-sided wintergreen (Orthilia secunda). Report prepared by Quercus for the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, N.I.), UK.
• Reid, N., Sweeney, O., Wilson, C., Preston, S.J. & Montgomery, W.I. (2007) Northern Ireland Irish hare survey 2007. Report prepared by Quercus for the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, N.I.), UK.
• Reid, N., Sweeney, O., Wilson, C., Preston, S.J., Montgomery, W.I. & McDonald, R.A. (2007) Developments in hare survey methodology - As applied to the NI Irish hare survey 2007. Report prepared by Quercus for the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, N.I.), UK.
• Hall-Aspland, S., Sweeney, O., Tosh, D., Preston, J., Montgomery , I. & McDonald, R. (2006) Northern Ireland Irish Hare Survey 2006 .
• Preston, J., Kelly, J., Sweeney, O. & McDonald, R. (2006) Isolated populations of freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera in Northern Ireland. Report prepared by Quercus for the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, N.I.), UK.

Presentations:

• Sweeney, O. & O'Halloran, J. 2009. Woodland and Forest Biodiversity. Trees: why we need them. Dunmanway, October 2009.
• Sweeney, O., Wilson, M., Kelly, T. C., Irwin, S. & O'Halloran, J. 2009. What differences exist between the bird communities of first and second rotation plantation forests? In: Keller, V. & O'Halloran, J. (Eds) 7th Conference of the European Ornithologists' Union Abstracts, Swiss Ornitholgical Institute, Sempach, 152pp. PDF.
• Sweeney, O. F. McD., Wilson, M., Kelly, T.C., Irwin, S. & O'Halloran, J. 2009. Bird density and species richness in native and plantation woodlands in Ireland: what differences exist and why? 2nd European Congress of Conservation Biology, Prague, September 2009. PDF.
• Sweeney, O., Wilson, M., Irwin, S. Kelly, T. C., & O'Halloran, J. 2008. Bird diversity of Irish Woodlands. Postgraduate Ecology Forum, Trinity College Dublin, March 2008. PDF.
• Sweeney, O., Kelly, T. C., Wilson, M., Irwin, S. & O'Halloran, J. 2007. What affects bird diversity in native and plantation woodlands? Institute of Ecology and Environment Management Irish Section Conference, Dublin, October 2007; Forest Task Force Annual Workshop, Bialoweiza, Poland, October 2007;  Environ 2008, Dundalk. Poster Presentation.