Eileen Twomey died suddenly on June 7th, following a heart attack. A few days earlier, she had returned to Dublin at the end of a bird-watching holiday in Norfolk. A vigorous septuagenarian, she was enjoying a very active life when the end came. Born and brought up on a large farm in Macroom, Eileen studied natural science in University College, Cork and was awarded a M.Sc. for a study entitled The flora and fauna of the estuary of the River Lee. After two years teaching science in England, she was appointed Naturalist in the Fisheries Branch of the Department of Agriculture in 1953.
This was the beginning of a very distinguished professional career in inland fisheries. Her early work included studies of the char and some experiments in the fertilisation of acid lakes in the west, with a view to transforming them into productive fisheries for brown trout. Times and priorities have changed and Eileen in her later years would have reacted with horror to any such manipulation of the natural habitat.
The greater part of her professional life was devoted to the study and conservation of the salmon: first in the national context but in time as one of the pillars of the Atlantic salmon establishment. Her research work was devoted mainly to the study of salmon migration by tagging, and to the characteristics of the salmon populations of various river systems. The field work brought her into contact with all sorts and conditions of fishery people, from aristocratic owners of fishing rights, through the local administrations, to the small-time commercial fishermen of remote communities.
Her promotion to Inspector of Fisheries in 1966 increased Eileen's administrative workload and effectively ended her career as a hands-on research worker. The position, however, made her a key adviser in all matters relating to salmon conservation and, in addition, put her in the front line of the battle against water pollution. To these she contributed erudition and a great firmness of purpose.
On the international scene she spent many years as a member of the Salmon and Trout, later Anadromous and Catadromous Committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, the top scientific group concerned with salmon conservation. Her organising ability was recognised in due course by her appointment as Chairman of the Committee.
A very large proportion of Eileen's professional life was devoted to helping all those who sought her advice, from Government ministers to children engaged in school projects. This was an essential part of the ethos of a public servant who believed in the fullest possible contact with that public. It was also in keeping with a generous spirit, a person with a deep concern for the welfare and interests of all those she came in contact with. This extended to groups of specialists such as the Institute of Fisheries Management and the Dublin Naturalists Field Club, to Alzheimer's patients, to her large extended family and to visiting scientists from distant countries.
She enjoyed a happy retirement, travelling the world on birdwatching excursions and maintaining her links with fisheries people, with naturalists and, above all, with the sick and elderly. Her brightness, good humour and zest for living makes her departure hard to accept. C.M.