Huge congratulations to VWT’s Ireland Mammal Programme Manager, Kate McAney, for receiving the Aoibheann Gaughran Award from Bat Conservation Ireland in recognition of outstanding commitment, leadership and passion for bat conservation.

Kate has worked continuously since the 1990s to ensure the survival of some of Ireland’s rarest bat and other mammal species — particularly the lesser horseshoe bat. This tiny bat has declined drastically and has become extinct in many other parts of Europe, while in Ireland is only found in six western counties of the country.

 Thanks to Kate’s dedication and her collaborative work with local and national organisations and with government departments, this rare bat now has a Species Action Plan to provide a framework of conservation actions for this species over the next five years. These actions include working with local councils to highlight how to plan and mitigate for the lesser horseshoe bat when carrying out new developments; working with NPWS to audit Lesser horseshoe bat roosts and to make improvements that will benefit the species; and working with other organisations such as the Mulkear River Catchment EIP Project to enable farmers to build summer roosts for the species.

Kate said: ‘It really was a special honour for me to be the first person to receive the Aoibheann Gaughran Award — Aoibheann was a dedicated volunteer for VWT when it came to counting bats emerging from our summer roosts and was someone who supported and encouraged our work to conserve threatened mammals in Ireland. This award will keep alive her research achievements and passion for wildlife and is an inspiration to everyone involved in wildlife conservation.

Aoibheann Gaughran volunteering with VWT Ireland.