Member Profiles


ISTJA consists of journalists with experience in print, broadcasting, and new media. Below are some profiles of our members.

Seán Duke


ISTJA President

Seán is a science graduate of University College Dublin (1987) with an MA in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting from New York University (1993).

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Anthea Lacchia


Anthea Lacchia

ISTJA Vice President

Anthea is a freelance science journalist and audio producer with a PhD in palaeontology from Trinity College Dublin and a MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London.

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Maria Delaney


Maria Delaney, editor and investigative journalist

ISTJA Treasurer

Maria is the editor of Noteworthy, an award-winning crowdfunded investigative platform from Journal Media. As an investigative journalist, she specialises in science, social justice and health.

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Anthony King


ISTJA Members’ Secretary

Anthony is a freelance science journalist based in Dublin. He covers a variety of topics in chemical and biological sciences, as well as science policy, health and innovation.

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Fintan Burke


Fintan is a freelance science journalist currently based in Hamburg. He has written for The Irish Times, Horizon Magazine and SciDev.net. He was previously based in Brussels and Dublin.

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Olive Heffernan


Olive is a science journalist and author who has spent the past 20 years writing about oceans and climate change. Her first book, The High Seas: Dispatches from the Unclaimed Ocean, is forthcoming in Spring 2024 for Profile Books UK and Greystone in North America.

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Niamh Shaw


Passionate about igniting curiosity and rekindling people’s passion for knowledge, Niamh shares space stories in broadcast and print journalism, podcast and video platforms to communicate science topics to the general public.

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Conor Purcell


Conor is a science journalist and editor with a PhD in Earth Science. He is a regular contributor at The Irish Times and has also written for Nature, Scientific American and Science, amongst others.

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Brian Trench


Brian has been a member of ISTJA for thirty years, and president in 1990s. Contributed to Technology Ireland, New Scientist, Sunday Tribune, Sunday Business Post, RTÉ Radio1 programmes, Irish Farmers’ Monthly, among others.

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