John Feehan was for over twenty years a senior lecturer in UCD's School of Agriculture and Food Science, from which he has recently retired. He is well known for his award-winning television work on the natural and cultural heritage of the Irish landscape. His many books include the definitive textbook on Ireland's peatlands, the widely acclaimed Farming in Ireland: History, Heritage and Environment, The Wildflowers of Offaly as well as several books on the geology, environmental heritage and history of the Midlands. He has been described by Michael Viney as 'one of Ireland's top ecologists and communicators of nature'.