Síle O'Donnell

Síle began her career as a botanical illustrator in the early 2000s, creating detailed drawings of plant specimens for academic publications and heritage organizations. But her passion for understanding gardens—not just depicting them—led her to pursue postgraduate study. She completed her MA in Garden History at University College Dublin, focusing on 18th and 19th-century Irish estate landscapes.

That academic foundation opened doors. She was appointed head curator of the Irish National Trust's gardens programme, where she worked directly with some of Ireland's most significant properties. For six years, she oversaw garden restoration projects, conservation strategies, and interpretive programmes. The work was deeply satisfying, but it was the storytelling aspect that really captured her imagination.

Over the past 14 years, she's become one of Ireland's leading voices on Victorian estate gardens. Her research spans landscape archaeology, plant heritage documentation, and conservation. She's spent countless days on site—at Mount Stewart in County Down, Bantry House in County Cork, and dozens of other properties—uncovering the botanical and historical records that reveal why these gardens matter.

What drives Síle is the conviction that these spaces shouldn't be reserved for academics or wealthy enthusiasts. Everyone deserves access to garden history, and that's especially true for older visitors who have lived experience of earlier garden styles. That's why she's developed real expertise in creating accessible interpretive content—guides that don't dumb down the history but present it in ways that are genuinely useful and engaging.