Aislínn Kelly

Environmental Geography Researcher & Writer

About

I’m an environmental geographer, PhD researcher and writer interested in how people shape places, and how landscapes, in turn, shape the ways we live.

My work sits across geography, ecology, heritage and environmental communication. My PhD research examines Ireland’s offshore lighthouse landscapes, exploring their ecological and cultural histories through fieldwork, archival research and spatial methods.

Before moving into academia, I trained and worked as a journalist, and storytelling remains central to how I approach research. I write and report on land, agriculture, nature restoration, transport, heritage and environmental policy, with a particular interest in the politics of place and the decisions that determine what our landscapes become.

Alongside my academic work, I develop independent and collaborative environmental projects. Field Notes is my writing project exploring nature, place and politics through essays, reporting and field observations. 

I’m also involved in A Biosphere for Ireland, a collaborative project with Thomas Legge exploring how ecological restoration, agriculture and communities might fit within a more connected vision for Ireland’s landscapes.

Across research, journalism, environmental communication and creative practice, my work is ultimately rooted in the same curiosity: how we understand places, how we decide what they are for, and what possibilities we imagine for their future.

Field Notes by Aislínn •

The Blackbird's Poet

Everyone carries their own superstitions, from not walking under ladders to blessing themselves when they pass a graveyard. Mine is that the blackbird is sacred. When I see one hopping through the grass, I take it as a sign of good luck. When I see one dead, I brace myself for misfortune. The blackbird, or lon dubh as Gaeilge, is one of the most widespread garden birds, easily identified as the males have black plumage and yellow bills, while the females are a less distinctive speckled brown, li...
Field Notes by Aislínn •

Paying for Life

One of the most pressing challenges of our time is how we respond to the mounting crisis of biodiversity loss.Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet including animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms that weave together to sustain balance and life itself. It is the foundation of everything we depend on like food, clean water and shelter.However, this fabric is fraying. Almost a third of EU-protected habitats are now in unfavourable condition.In Ireland, over half of our native plant sp...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

Where the Stations Sleep

It all started with a fifteen-minute train ride from my small apartment in Flemingsberg to central Stockholm. Hurtling past the snow-covered streets and morning commuters, that train ride reshaped my perspective on transport. The train has always been my favourite way to travel, and I’ve explored Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway by rail.But I’m no Francis Bourgeois. I can’t name train models and I don’t stand by tracks to watch them pass. What interests me isn’t the trains themselves, but how...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

Until the Cows Come Home

As a journalist, one of my biggest frustrations was how agriculture was treated as a niche topic. It was always difficult to pitch farming stories, as they were considered not to appeal to a Dublin audience. We’ve all seen the familiar setup of an IFA representative pitted against an environmentalist, with a host floundering to keep the discussion on track. This format only reinforces the tired narrative of persecuted farmers under siege from ignorant city slickers, while genuine, solutions-focu...
Field Notes by Aislinn •

When the Birds Don’t Follow the Plough

At the beginning of this summer, I started research for my master’s thesis on the challenges facing organic tillage farmers. From as long as I can remember, I have loved walking fields with my dogs. A lot of land around me is tillage, and I find the thrill of the harvest intoxicating, from the first preparation of washing the combine in mid-spring, to dinners served out of the boot of a car after a day of baling, and even the feeling of chaff in my socks.Although I circle fields daily with my d...

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Tipperary Live •

Tipperary journalist is awarded prestigious college scholarship for four-year research role

Tipperary's Aislinn Kelly has been awarded the prestigious EPA Lighthouse PhD Scholarship at Mary Immaculate College’s annual College Awards Ceremony.
Aislinn will embark on a four-year PhD in MIC’s Department of Geography, where she will focus on Ireland’s uninhabited offshore islands, remote places home to rare seabirds, delicate habitats and some of the country’s most unique wildlife.
Aislinn is the daughter of David and Catherine Kelly from New Inn.
READ MORE: Exciting Tipperary podcast proj...
University of Limerick •

Alumni Spotlight: Aislinn Kelly

In the next instalment of our Alumni Spotlight series, we speak to University of Limerick graduate Aislinn Kelly, who studied the BA in Journalism and Digital Communications in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Having recently been awarded Newcomer of the Year at the News UK and Ireland Broadcasting Awards, Aislinn reflects on her experience at UL and how it set her on the path to a flourishing career in the media industry

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