I’D LIKE TO give you some food for thought.

I try to look for the positive stories to tell when it comes to Irish nature, because there are lots out there to inspire, motivate and give some hope. The many Irish Nature Heroes out there doing amazing work to reverse our biodiversity crisis for a start.

But this story sits in my mind like a dead weight. It needs to be told. I made a short video about it on my Instagram and it really resonated with people, so I thought I’d share it more widely.

Do you know what the Irish national bird is?

You would also be forgiven for thinking that bird is a kingfisher, as many do, but it’s actually a woodcock. Neither of those birds though, are our Irish national bird.

It’s called a lapwing, or green plover. It’s a beautiful, pigeon sized wetland bird with a stylish wispy crest at the back of its head. A wader, it can be seen in It tends to feed at night, searching for invertebrates like earthworms and arthropods.

It was declared the Republic of Ireland’s national bird by a the Irish Wildbird Conservancy, now known as Birdwatch Ireland, in 1990. While the Oireachtas itself has never made an official designation for it, and many other birds have been suggested, since then it has remained in place, established in hearts and minds as a national symbol.

The Northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) is a fitting choice. The bird—known as pilibín in Irish—was........

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