Dr. Catherine Farrell

• Farrell CA, Coleman L, Kelly-Quinn M, Obst CG, Eigenraam M, Norton D, O'Donoghue C, Kinsella S, Delargy O, Stout JC, Applying the System of Environmental Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) framework at catchment scale to develop ecosystem extent and condition accounts, One Ecosystem, 6, 2021, pe65582Journal Article, 2021, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
• Farrell, Catherine A., Aronson, James, Daily, Gretchen C., Hein, Lars, Obst, Carl, Woodworth, Paddy, Stout, Jane C., Natural capital approaches: shifting the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration from aspiration to reality, Restoration Ecology, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
• Farrell, C. A., Coleman, L., Norton, D., Kelly-Quinn, M., Obst, C., Eigenraam, M., O'Donoghue, C., Kinsella, S., Smith, F., Sheehy, I., & Stout, J. C., Developing peatland ecosystem accounts to guide targets for restoration, One Ecosystem, 6, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
• Farrell, C.A. and Coleman, L. and Norton, D. and Kelly-Quinn, M. and Kinsella, S. and Obst, C. and Eigenraam, M. and O'Donoghue, C. and Sheehy, I. and Smith, F. and Stout, J.C., Applying ecosystem accounting to develop a risk register for peatlands and inform restoration targets at catchment scale: a case study from the European region, Restoration Ecology., 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
• Gorman CE, Torsney A, Gaughran A, McKeon C, Farrell C, White C, Donohue I, Stout J, Buckley YM, Reconciling climate action with the need for biodiversity protection, restoration and rehabilitation, Science of the Total Environment, 857, (1), 2023, p159316Journal Article, 2023, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
• Catherine A. Farrell, John Connolly, Terry R. Morley, Charting a course for peatland restoration in Ireland: a case study to support restoration frameworks in other regions, Restoration Ecology, 2024Journal Article, 2024, DOI , URL
• Farrell C. A., Connolly, J. & Morley, T.R., Charting a course for peatland restoration in Ireland: a case study to support restoration frameworks in other regions., Restoration Ecology, 32, (7), 2024, pe14216Journal Article, 2024, URL
• Farrell C, Aronson J, Daily G, Hein L, Obst C, Woodworth P, Stout J., Natural capital approaches: shifting the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration from aspiration to reality., Restoration Ecology, 2021Journal Article, 2021, URL
• Louis Gilet, Wahaj Habib; Elena Aitova; Kenneth A. Byrne; Catherine A. Farrell; Owen Fenton; Raymond Flynn; Dave O'Leary; Terry R. Morley; Pat Tuohy; Shane Regan; Florence Renou-Wilson; David Wilson; John Connolly, Peatland use and peat soil land cover types in Ireland: Implications for the calculation of GHG emissions in the context of climate action, Land Use Policy, 2025Journal Article, 2025, DOI
• Martini, F., Conroy, K., King, E., Farrell, C.A., Kelly-Quinn, M., Obst, C., Buckley, Y.M., Stout, J.C., A capacity index to connect ecosystem condition to ecosystem services accounts, Ecological Indicators, 167, 2024, pe123Journal Article, 2024, DOI
• Renou-Wilson, F., Moser, G., Fallon, D., Farrell, C.A., Müller, C., Wilson, D., Rewetting degraded peatlands for climate and biodiversity benefits: Results from two raised bogs, Ecological Engineering, 127, 2019, p547-560Journal Article, 2019, DOI
• Andersen, R., Farrell, C., Graf, M., Muller, F., Calvar, E., Frankard, P., Caporn, S., Anderson, P., An overview of the progress and challenges of peatland restoration in Western Europe, Restoration Ecology., 25, (2), 2017, p271-282Journal Article, 2017, DOI
• Wilson, D., Farrell, C.A., Fallon, D., Moser, G., Müller, C., Renou-Wilson, F., Multiyear greenhouse gas balances at a rewetted temperate peatland, Global Change Biology, 22, (12), 2016, p4080-4095Journal Article, 2016, DOI
• Farrell, C.A., Doyle, G.J., Rehabilitation of industrial cutaway Atlantic blanket bog in County Mayo, North-West Ireland, Wetlands Ecology and Management, 11, (1-2), 2003, p21-35Journal Article, 2003, DOI
• Michael Vardon, Paul Lucas, Steve Bass, Matthew Agarwala, Andrea M. Bassi, Diane Coyle, Anthony Dvarskas, Catherine A. Farrell, Oliver Greenfield, Steven King, Martin Lok, Carl Obst, Brian O'Callaghan, Rosimeiry Portela, Juha Siikamäki, From COVID-19 to Green Recovery with natural capital accounting, Ambio, 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
• David Wilson, Francis Mackin, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Gerald Moser, Catherine Farrell, Florence Renou-Wilson, Carbon and climate implications of rewetting a raised bog in Ireland, Global Change Biology, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
• Renou-Wilson F, Farrell CA., Peatland vulnerability to energy-related climate change policy in Ireland: the case of wind farms, Mires and Peat, 4, 2009Journal Article, 2009
• Gilet L, Habib W, Aitova E, Byrne KA, Farrell CA, Fenton O, et al., Peatland use and peat soil land cover types in Ireland: Implications for the calculation of GHG emissions in the context of climate action., Land Use Policy., 159, 2025, p107792Journal Article, 2025, URL
• UNEP, Global Peatlands Assessment: The State of the World's Peatlands: Evidence for action toward the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of peatlands. Summary for Policy Makers., United Nations Environment Programme., 2022Report, 2022
• Wilson D, Farrell CA, Muller C, Hepp S., Renou-Wilson F., Rewetted industrial cutaway peatlands in western Ireland: prime location for climate change mitigation?, Mires and Peat, 11, 2013Journal Article, 2013
• Farrell, CA, White, C, et al., Aligning nature sustainability reporting requirements across national, business and farm scale: lessons from Ireland, Journal of Environmental Management, 409, 2026Journal Article, 2026, DOI
• Irish Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Environments (the INCASE project): transdisciplinary research in action. in, editor(s)Cannon, Coughlan, Coglan , How to Organise Transdisciplinary Research for Transformative Action and Knowledge Co-Production., 2026, [Farrell CA, Norton D, Obst C, O"Donoghue C, Smith F, Coleman L, Eigenraam M, Kinsella S, Kelly-Quinn M, Stout JC.]Book Chapter, 2026

• Farrell, C.A. and Jane C. Stout, Irish Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Environments: Stage 1 Feasibility Report, Research Report: 322, EPA, July, 2020Report, URL
• Stout, J.C., Farrell, C.A., Coleman L, Norton D, Kelly-Quinn M, Obst C, Eigenraam M, O"Donoghue C, Kinsella S, Smith F, Sheehy I, Kimmerman, S., Irish Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Environments (INCASE) (2018-NC-LS-2). EPA Research Evidence Synthesis Report., EPA Ireland, November, 2023Report, URL
• Jane Stout, Maire Nic an Bhaird, Laoise Ni Chleirigh, Thomas P. Curran, Catherine Farrell, Nathan T. Wright, Beo, Raja and the Butterfly Effect, 2025, -Miscellaneous, URL , TARA - Full Text
• Delargy O, Farrell CA, O'Hagan M, Stout JC., The Voluntary Nature Market in Ireland: State of Play., https://www.tcd.ie/media/tcd/business/pdfs/research/The-Voluntary-Nature-Market-in-Ireland---State-o, September, 2025Report
• Farrell CA., Peatland Restoration: A Nature Based Solution, Proceedings of the 44th Annual IAH (Irish Group) Groundwater Conference: 'Groundwater & Nature Based Solutions'., The 44th Annual IAH (Irish Group) Groundwater Conference: 'Groundwater & Nature Based Solutions', Ireland, April 2024, edited by IAH Group , IAH, 2024Conference Paper
• Farrell CA, Daly D. 2020, The Contribution of Limestones in Ireland to Natural Capital., The 40th Annual IAH (Irish Group) Groundwater Conference: Characterisation and Management of Groundwater in Limestones., Ireland., edited by IAH , 2020Conference Paper
• Farrell, C.A., Feehan, J(ed.), After wise use: the future of peatlands., Tullamore, Ireland, Volumes I and II, (0951489046), June, IPS, Finland, 2008Proceedings of a Conference
• Farrell, C.A.(ed.), Peatland Utilisation and Research in Ireland Dublin 2006, https://peatland.shop/products/Peatland-Utilisation-and-Research-in-Ireland-Dublin-2006-p772524378, Dublin, Ireland, IPS, Finland, 2006Proceedings of a Conference
• Farrell CA., Peatland restoration in Ireland: a review of current practices., Peatland Utilisation and Research in Ireland., Dublin, Ireland, edited by Farrell, C.A. , 2006, pp30 - 36Conference Paper
• Farrell, C.A., Post Industrial Management of a Peatland Site in County Mayo, West of Ireland: integrating peatland rehabilitation and sustainable energy production after-uses., The 12th International Peat Congress Tampere, Finland., Tampere, Finland, edited by Juhani Päivänen , I, IPS, Finland, 2004Conference Paper
• Farrell, C.A., Delivering on promises: the Bord na Móna Biodiversity Action Plan 2012-2015., 14th International Peat Congress, Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden, June 2012, IPS, Finland, 2012Conference Paper
• Farrell, C.A. & Doyle, G.J., Rehabilitation of Atlantic Blanket Bog Industrial Cutaway at Bellacorick, North-West Mayo., Towards a Conservation Strategy for the Bogs of Ireland., Dublin, Ireland., November 1997, edited by IPCC , 1998Poster
• Farrell C.A., Stout JC., Irish Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Environments: A Literature Review., EPA, 2019Report
• Ireland's natural wealth of Oceanic woodlands: reflections on hidden values. in, editor(s)R. O'Foghlu , Under Summer Pastures, Hometree, 2022, [Farrell, C.A.]Book Chapter
• Clare Noone, Deirdre McClean, Danielle Gallagher, Jennifer McElwain, Peter Thorne, Brian Caulfield, Levke Cesar, Hannah Daly, Paul Deane, Mark Emmerson, Catherine Farrell, Stephen Flood, Kirsten Fossum, Eamon Haughey, Liam Heaphy, Flavio Lehner, Damien Martin, Gerard McCarthy, James McGrath, Connor McGookin, Abhay Menon, Róisín Moriarty, Conor Murphy, Enda O"Brien, Brian Ó Gallachóir, Tadhg O"Mahony, Jurgita Ovadnevaita, Paul Nolan, Tara Quinn, Florence Renou-Wilson, Agnieszka Stefaniec, Diarmuid Torney, David Wilson, Mariam Zachariah., Ireland's Climate Change Assessment Volume 1: Climate Science-Ireland in a changing world., https://www.epa.ie/publication, EPA, 2023Report
• Farrell, C.A., An ecological study of intact and industrial cutaway Atlantic blanket bog at Bellacorick, north-west Mayo., 2001Thesis
• Copland, A.S., Farrell, C.A. & Mark J McCorry, Breeding bird populations on the Oweninny cutaway peatlands, County Mayo., Irish Birds, 9, 2011, p197 - 208Journal Article
• D Wilson, F Renou-Wilson, C Farrell, C Bullock, C Müller, Carbon Restore-The potential of Irish peatlands for carbon uptake and storage, EPA, 2012Report
• Florence Renou-Wilson, David Wilson, Caítlin Rigney, Ken Byrne, C Farrell, Christoph Müller., Network monitoring rewetted and restored peatlands/organic soils for climate and biodiversity benefits (NEROS)., https://www.epa.ie/publication, EPA, 2012Report
• Fallon, D., McCorry, M., Farrell, C. and Moran, J., Ten years in rehab: what have we learned in Mayo?, 14th International Peat Congress, Stockholm 2012., Stockholm, Sweden., June, 2012Conference Paper
• McCorry, M., Copland, A., Egan, T., Fallon, D. and Farrell, C., Developing habitat management techniques to enhance the value of Bord na Móna cutaway raised bogs in Ireland for breeding waders., 14th International Peat Congress, Stockholm 2012., Stockholm, Sweden., June 2012, IPS Finland., 2012Conference Paper
• Wilson, D., Renou-Wilson, F., Farrell, C., and Muller, C. 2012., Prime real estate for climate change mitigation: rewetted industrial cutaway peatlands in North West Ireland., 14th International Peat Congress, Stockholm 2012., Stockholm, Sweden., June 2012., 2012Conference Paper
• Hoffman, et al., ALTER-Net: Science underpinning The EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, SER Europe, Ghent, ALTER-Net, 2013Conference Paper
• Farrell, C.A., What is Nature really worth?, Borris Festival of Writing and Ideas, Carlow, Ireland, June 2021, 2021, Borris Festival of Writing & IdeasInvited Talk
• Farrell, CA, Integrating Nature into Business: the Critical Role of Ecologists, CIEEM Annual conference, Sligo, April 23rd, 2026, CIEEMInvited Talk
• Farrell, CA, Building Coalitions for Impact for Nature, Climate and Nature Forum Ireland, Trinity Business School, April 14th, 2026, Be-ImpactfulInvited Talk
• Farrell, CA, La Notte, A, Pisani, D, NCA training, ESP 2026, May 18th, 2026, PragueMeetings /Conferences Organised
• Edward Knapp, Cian White, Catherine A. Farrell, Martha O"Hagan Luff, Jane C. Stout, Yvonne M. Buckley, POLICY BRIEF: Developing Carbon and Biodiversity Insetting in the Agri-Food Value Chain, 2026Report
• Transdisciplinary research in action: a synthesis in, editor(s)P Coughlan, SM Cannon, D Coghlan. , How to Organise Transdisciplinary Research for Transformative Action and Knowledge Co-Production, 2026, [Paul Coughlan, Sheila M Cannon, David Coghlan, Ronika Chakrabarti, Gemma Donnelly-Cox, Ronald Duncan, Catherine A Farrell, Rattanmeek Kaur, Pascal Le Masson, Siobhán McQuaid, Susan P Murphy, Amrita Nanda, Daniel Norton, Ruby Paterson, Daryl Powell, Henrik Saabye, Desirée van Dun]Book Chapter

• Title

  TUNNIN IN
  Summary

  TUINNIN-IN is a collaborative project aimed at understanding the importance of Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) to Ireland"s marine ecosystems and society, and enhancing the sustainable management of the species into the future. It will take a multidisciplinary approach exploring available- and new data
  to furnish a variety of predictions and recommendations, and with several main objectives that will benefit the Irish economy and society while simultaneously enhancing ecological knowledge and management outcomes for ABFT in Ireland. TUINNIN-IN will resolve ABFT diet and trophic role using
  complementary dietary tracers; build distribution models to explain why ABFT abundance varies
  through space and time and predict how occurrences will shift in the future; adopt ecosystem
  accounting methods to reveal the broad economic and social benefits of ABFT to Ireland and how
  they can be maximized; and create a new research network to bring Ireland to the forefront as a
  leading European hub of tuna research. As well as being a primary research programme, TUINNIN-IN
  is also a partnership and networking platform, represented by a range of academics and policy
  advisers, and with a dedicated legacy building work package aimed at building long-term research
  capacity in Ireland, and to confer self-sustainability of the Postdoctoral Fellow as a future researcher leader.
  Funding Agency

  Marine Institute
  Date From

  July 2026
  Date To

  July 2030
• Title

  Valuing Nature
  Summary

  Backdrop: The Valuing Nature research programme is based on increasing capacity and expertise in natural capital accounting, to identify, measure, and value ecosystem services and benefits. The research will encompass three main research themes focussed on developing robust methodology to
  a) identify, and measure ecosystem services
  b) link the flows of services explicitly to ecosystem extent and condition, and
  c) value the ecosystem services and benefits.
  Funding Agency

  AIB Trinity Climate Hub
• Title

  Luach na Mara - the value of the sea
  Summary

  A key challenge identified within the NSPSA is the need for a stronger evidence base to understand and
  quantify aquaculture-derived ecosystem services and their interactions with natural capital. Previous
  studies attempted to quantify ecosystem services associated with regenerative ocean farming, however,
  substantial knowledge gaps remain and there is currently no standardised, quantitative framework for
  assessing the flows of the services and their associated socio-economic benefits. Furthermore, there is
  little or no scientific evidence for some of the claimed benefits. For example, recent models show that
  seaweed cultivation is unlikely to contribute significantly to atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (Berger
  et al. 2026), while the role of biogenic reefs in enhancing fish recruitment is highly context dependent
  (Lee et al. 2026). We found that many claims surrounding seaweed farming as a nature-based solution
  are not yet supported by sufficient scientific evidence (Canvin et al. 2025; Gilson et al. in review). These
  findings reinforce the need for robust methodologies capable of accurately assessing natural capital,
  ecosystem services, the resultant benefits, and the true environmental performance of low trophic
  aquaculture systems to fully support the sustainable development of the sector (Cerca et al. 2023). This project directly addresses this need through four interconnected work packages.
  Funding Agency

  Bord Iascaigh Mhara
• Title

  INCASE
  Summary

  Irish Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Environments
  Funding Agency

  EPA Ireland
• Title

  NeighbourWood
  Summary

  This research project will develop an integrated framework for generating environmental credits from community-scale native woodlands in Ireland.
  The focus will be on generating a credit which reflects the delivery of three ecosystem services" climate regulation, habitat provision, and water-related flows within forest systems.
  The research will focus on measuring and tracking these flows of services by means of a credible and operational standard (the NeighbourWood Restoration Standard, NRS). The research will take place in two phases, reflecting a clear progression from i) conceptual design to ii) empirical implementation and testing, and economic operationalisation.
  Funding Agency

  Enterprise Ireland
• Title

  ReFarm
  Summary

  Project ReFarm was launched in 2024, in a bid to pilot nature restoration action on farms in Ireland, by means of leveraging private finance. The objectives of the project are to: support the creation of a funding structure that will enable businesses to invest in high impact nature-positive actions on farms in Ireland; enable farmers to take nature positive actions and as a result, earn a financial return for nature-positive outcomes on their farms; and complement and enhance the impact of existing agri-environmental and other funding schemes such as CAP, as well as supporting targets set through National Restoration Plans.
  Funding Agency

  BiOrbic
  Date From

  April 2024
• Title

  Landscape Living Lab
  Summary

  The interconnected global challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change are manifested locally through extreme weather and disruption of socio-economic activities. In Ireland, flood risk is intensified by increasing rainfall extremes, compounded by legacies of historical land-use, drainage schemes and significant alterations to river-channels over past centuries. Added to this, ongoing development on floodplains and long- and short-term land-use changes generate uneven capacities for climate and flood adaptation. This increases pressure to design and implement effective mitigation plans and measures locally and nationally. However, the inherent complexity of flooding stands as a climate adaptation challenge that demands transformative approaches to land and water management rather than incremental adjustments to existing practices.
  We answer this call with a living-lab catchment research programme, taking an integrative, transdisciplinary approach rooted in the core disciplines of civil engineering, ecosystem assessment, geomorphology and environmental history while engaging across stakeholder groups. Each of 4 PhD students will focus on one of four intertwined pillars (the "4Ms"), all designed as an integrated system: Monitoring (current dynamics and risk); Modelling (pathways to future resilience); Memory (how vulnerability arose, what historical records are available); and Management (a decision framework for evidenced trade-offs). We will develop and test transformative approaches " focusing on nature-based solutions - and methodologies towards establishing a shared language for engaging catchment stakeholders (including policymakers, communities, landowners) to map credible resilience pathways from the future, back to the present, developing trusted public-facing tools that inform evidence-based adaptation.
  Funding Agency

  TRDA / AIB Trinity Climate Hub

Conservation and biodiversity, Environmental management, Other natural sciences, Ecosystem services (incl. pollination), Wildlife and habitat management, Environmental assessment and monitoring, Environmental education and extension, Environmental rehabilitation and restoration,

• Academic Scholarship (Environmental Science) 1995
• Research Award Trinity Business School 2025; Honourable mention 2026 June 2025; June 2026
• Trinity Business School Teaching Award (Natural Capital Accounting module) June 2026
• Academic Scholarship (Zoology) 1994
• Sustainability Leadership Award Trinity College Dublin March 2025

• CIEEM present