Our original website domain was lost. Barry Murphy (chairperson in 2022) created this new website “birdwatchingmayo.org” and he managed to upload some past details.
The branch was created in 2003 by a group of ornithologists involved in the Irish Wetland Birds Survey (IWeBS) survey in Mayo. After waning interest and the effects of Covid lockdowns, Ruth Ann Leak (secretary) made a concerted effort to reinvigorate the Mayo branch. A new committee was formed in December 2021. The information in this section relates from that time.
Below is information about the Mayo Branch of Birdwatch Ireland, including our current and past committee members, minutes of our committee meetings and AGMs, our Mayo branch guidelines and those of BirdWatch Ireland and more.
Branch Committee
Committee for 2025/2026
| Officer Role | Name |
| Chairperson | Pádraig Keogh |
| Secretary | Graham Cawdell |
| Treasurer | Mick Oates |
| Assistant Secretary | Karen Hunt |
| IT Lead & Research Officer | Colin Guilfoyle |
| General Committee Members | |
| Marie Comerford | Jon Freestone |
| Nathy Gilligan | Colm Madden |
| Nuala O’Malley | Rosemary McCreery |
Committee for 2024/2025
| Officer Role | Name |
| Chairperson | Pádraig Keogh |
| Secretary | Graham Cawdell |
| Treasurer | Mick Oates |
| Assistant Secretary | Karen Hunt |
| Research Officer and IT Lead | Colin Guilfoyle |
| General Committee Members | |
| Marie Comerford | Jon Freestone |
| Nathy Gilligan | Colm Madden |
| Nuala O’Malley | George Keegan |
Committee for 2023/2024
| Officers | Members | |
| Chairperson | Vacancy | Colin Guilfoyle |
| Joint Secretaries | Graham Cawdell | Colm Madden |
| Ruth-Ann Leak | Jon Freestone | |
| Treasurer | Pádraig Keogh | Kieran Flynn |
| Public Relations Officer | George Keegan | Marie Comerford |
| Nathy Gilligan | ||
| Nuala O’Malley | ||
Committee for 2022
| BWMayo Committee as of 1st December 2021 | |
| Position | Name |
| Chair | Barry Murphy |
| Joint Sec | Ruth-Ann Leak |
| Joint Sec | Graham Cawdell |
| Treasurer | Helen Lawson |
| PRO | George Keegan |
| Committee / Twitter | Colin Guilfoyle |
| Committee | Colm Madden |
| Committee | Kieran Flynn |
| Committee | Marie Comerford |
| Committee | Nathy Gilligan |
| Committee | Padraig Keogh |
| Committee | Jon Freestone / Nuala O’Malley |
Minutes of Past Meetings & AGMs
21/6/2025 Minutes
16/4/2025 Minutes and AGM
1/2/2025 Minutes
7/12/2024 Minutes
28/09/2024 Minutes
8/06/2024 Minutes
17/04/2024 AGM & Minutes
17/02/2024 Minutes
20/09/2023 Minutes
21/06/2023 Minutes
12/04/2023 Minutes
15/02/2023 Minutes
07/12/2022 AGM & Minutes
14/09/2022 Minutes
20/07/2022 Minutes
11/05/2022 Minutes
16/03/2022 Minutes
19/01/2022 Minutes
Other Branch Information, Procedures, etc.
BWI Guidelines for Branches (2018 edition) – These are for guidance only. BWI is aware that they need to be reviewed and that they are too prescriptive.
Birdwatch Mayo 