A definite perk of my job at Fota Wildlife Park is to see behind the scenes and document all the goings on

TELL us about yourself;

I’m Sinéad Donnachie, I’m a Social Media Executive at Fota Wildlife Park, so I work on the social media here, managing content creation and posting on our website and all our channels, as well as facilitation of customer interactions, and tracking data and analytics.

Day to day, this means I could be found doing anything from being out around the Wildlife Park videoing our Rangers and the animals, making colouring pages for the website, or answering questions on YouTube, it’s a very varied role, the variety is one of the things I love about it.

I studied Fine Arts in Crawford College of Art & Design, which I followed up with a Masters in Contemporary Art History at UCC. While I was studying, I started off in Fota Wildlife Park face-painting and doing art with kids, which I loved. That role was seasonal and after college I continued at Fota Wildlife Park, while also doing a lot of background work in theatre and film, which I also loved. I started to bring bits of that work into my role at Fota, I was taking photos and making videos and my role developed as social media grew and became what it is today.

There’s a lot of great people working here that are full of knowledge and passion for the animals here, so I’m really lucky to be part of the amazing work that is done here. A definite perk is to see behind the scenes and to document all the goings on. Like this week, I’m spending some time around the curlew chicks and the people working in the Breeding Waders EIP programme, which is fantastic, there’s so much work that goes into native species projects like this that visitors are unable to see.

We are also preparing for the official launch of the new Education, Conservation and Research Centre, so I am very busy creating content around that. 

I love being able to share the hard work that goes on that people may not know about.

Where do you live?

I live in Cobh, which is a gorgeous spot, and I love being close to the sea.

Best friend?

My sister and brother. I’m lucky I’m really close to my siblings and their partners, we’re always onto each other, and in each other’s hair!

Where was your most memorable holiday?

Last year I went to Gozo, Malta, for a friend’s wedding. It’s a stunning island and we were lucky to stay there for a while with lots of great company, which made it one of the most fun holidays I’ve ever had. It’s a truly beautiful spot though, with delicious food and lots to see. Stunning sights and limoncellos!

Favourite TV programme?

I don’t know if I have a favourite, but at the moment I’m about halfway through Scavengers Reign which is on Netflix and I’d definitely recommend it!

Favourite radio show?

It’s always tuned into one of the Cork stations, we’re spoilt for choice here.

Your signature dish if cooking?

I cook a lot, I love cooking anything but my crowd pleaser would usually be pizza. I’ll get lots of bits in and get the bases ready to go and then everyone can all pick out their own favourite toppings. Very handy if you’ve a lot of different people over.

Favourite restaurant?

My sister’s house, (sorry everyone, it’s a real exclusive spot!) my brother-in-law is an amazing chef, everything he cooks is delicious and he used to have his own cakery, so his deserts are ridiculous.

Last book you read?

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green, it’s been out for a while but I’ve only just gotten around to it now. I won’t spoil it, but it’s about a person who ends up going viral online after making a video of something she stumbled upon and doesn’t fully understand yet. It’s an interesting and easy read. 

The social media side was what made me seek it out.

Best book you read?

I love After Dark by Haruki Murakami, I’ve read it so many times. It’s really visual, you are right there in each scene, in each chapter, reading it is like popping through a portal right into to that world. It mostly takes place across this one night, and it’s like one of those nights where nothing sterotypically life-changing happens, but you’re a different person the next day. I would recommend for sure.

Last album/CD/download you bought?

The last album I bought was a couple of old Jimmy Eat World albums to shout along to, I’m relieving my youth apparently.

Favourite song?

Picking favourites is hard… The NSFW opening track on Robyn’s album Body Talk PT1 always puts me in a good mood though!

Do you have a pet?

No, I’m afraid I’m not home enough for a pet, my last pet was some low maintenance bioluminescent algae, which I did love, but I get to see all the fantastic animals at work every day so I’m sorted. We probably shouldn’t have favourites, but I definitely do, the Indian Rhino and the European Bison are gorgeous animals to watch, but I could spend the day in the Tropical House too, there’s so much to see there. I’m actually pretty lucky that my desk here looks out into the cheetah run habitat, and the cheetahs usually come up to the window in the mornings and I chat to them. I don’t think they can hear me, but it’s lovely way to start my day.

Your proudest moment?

I’m not sure about proudest, but I did recently pass my driving test and am absolutely thrilled with myself. For anyone who may have put off learning like I did, go for it! You won’t regret it!

Name one thing you would improve in your area in which you live?

I know I’m not alone in saying another access road onto the island, all the extra Irish Rail services and the Cobh Connect buses have been really great for getting around, but if there’s an accident or an emergency on the road then there can be issues.

What makes you happy?

Food, good company, swimming in the sea, and being outdoors. I love walking around the wildlife park here. 

My favourite time in the park is in the autumn, but I always recommend going earlier in the morning no matter what time of year. 

If I wasn’t working here I’d have to get the annual pass, I would miss the animals!

What else are you up to at the moment?

I do a lot of my own photography and drawing and I’m very lucky to have an exhibition coming up this December in Cobh Library. They have a fantastic exhibition space in the building, it’s really versatile and there’s lots of interesting shows on there. Fota Wildlife Park actually had one in there last year, with some stunning visitors’ photographs. Any free time is busy working on bits for that at the moment!

The sustainably-built, Education, Conservation and Research Centre at Fota Wildlife Park, co-funded by the Government via the Office of Public Works, is the largest single development in the Park’s history and features a 265-seater auditorium, state of the art classrooms, eco-friendly passive design, and is now open as an education centre, and is also available for corporate and private events.

See www.fotawildlife.ie