Eric Dempsey has been birding for over 25 years, and is one of the most experienced and best known birders in Ireland. Author of the best-selling Complete Guide to Ireland's Birds, and the follow-up Pocket Guide to the Common Birds of Ireland, Eric is widely travelled. He has visited five continents and over 30 countries in pursuit of birds. His excellent reputation as both a national and international tour guide has been earned after countless bird tours around Ireland, and further afield in Britain and Europe.
In 1990, with Esther Murphy and Michael O'Clery, he co-founded the Birds of Ireland News Service (B.I.N.S.) which provides up-to-the-minute information on the sightings of rare and unusual birds. Throughout Ireland Eric is known as 'the voice behind the news'. In the early 1990's he was editor of the country's first independant birding magazine, Irish Birding News. His writing and photography has appeared in various journals throughout the world and Eric now has a regular column in the new Irish wildlife magazine, Wild Ireland. He is an experienced broadcaster and in 1999, along with his partner and fellow birder, Esther Murphy, was the subject of a 30-minute documentary about birding on national television. An active conservationist, Eric has served as a council member with Birdwatch Ireland and was the Irish representative to Birdlife International for over two years. Former chairman of the Dublin branch of Birdwatch Ireland, he was co-founder of one of the most successful of it's groups, the Tolka Branch. A much sought-after speaker, Eric is in demand for the variety of topics he speaks on, ranging from bird identification to foreign birding trips, delivered in an engaging, relaxed and humourous style.
Actively birding since the mid 1980's, Esther has lead many guided bird tours both in a professional and voluntary capacity. In 1992, Esther became the first Irish female to see 300 species in Ireland, and is still Ireland's top female lister, ranked within the top 20 in the country. An active conservationist she co-founded Birdwatch Ireland's Tolka Branch and has worked tirelessly for conservation and animal welfare issues for many years. Eric & Esther conduct EarthFoot's Birding with Ireland's Top Birders experience. |
