Ciara Timlin at the Sydney Botanical Gardens
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Ciara Timlin at the Sydney Botanical Gardens
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Sydney Botanical Gardens Brett Boardman Photography
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Botanical Gardens
Published:
Sat 31 Jan 2026, 8:00 AM
Síofra Grant
A Westmeath woman newly appointed as executive director of the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Garden in Sydney says her mission is to spread the word of the important work being done there.
Ciara Timlin, daughter of Catherine and the late Ned Timlin from Mullingar, has been living in Australia for nearly 15 years, and is looking forward to getting her teeth into her role at what is one of Australia’s most iconic cultural and environmental landmarks.
She originally studied art and has been working in philanthropy since she first set foot Down Under, where her career began in the Museum of Contemporary Art.
“The museum was being refurbished and I applied and got a job there,” Ciara recalls, as she sits in her new office, speaking to the Westmeath Examiner by video call. Behind her, pictures and paintings of native flora are arranged on the walls .
“I landed in Australia and started working there – my background was arts, and I was there for almost eight years.
“While there, I moved through different roles, more into the area of support arrangement and philanthropy, which I loved.”
Having studied art at university, Ciara’s affinity with philanthropy came as a surprise. “I didn’t know I’d ever end up working in that space but this idea of connecting audiences with support for these not-for-profit and small arts and cultural organisations appealed.
After eight years in the museum, Ciara took a similar role in the University of Sydney, where she remained for six and a half years.
During that time she discovered that she favoured, “smaller, more agile organisations”.
She got in touch with a recruiter who said, ‘I’ve got the perfect job for you.’
The Sydney Botanical Gardens are made up of three separate sites, Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and Mount Annan. It is vital to the country’s protection of native plants and is the oldest scientific institution in the country, housing The Australian Institute of Botanical Science.
“Obviously it’s a tourist destination, but actually they do a huge amount of conservation and research work.
“The main organisation has a huge team of people and scientists, chief scientists and incredible people who do plant banking, seed collection, and are doing a lot of work around climate resilience and native species.”
Climate resilience is becoming more and more important in Australia, where the effects are tangible.
“What I notice here is it’s visible, like climate change is probably something when you’re home in Ireland, you’re not as aware of it, because it’s green.
“The weather is temperate, whereas here, there’s been bush fires just last week down in Melbourne, near where my brother lives. You can’t walk away from it.”
Gesturing to a window at her left Ciara says: “We’ve had torrential rain. If you were to look out the window right now, you’d see it’s actually a really torrential wet weekend.
“And when it rains here, it absolutely pours.”
As well as helping fight climate change, the teams at the gardens work closely with the First Nations people in the area.
“They have First Nations identified staff and there are tours here where you can go out and they will show you some of the native plants, what you can eat and not eat, and all that kind of knowledge and information,
The Botanical Gardens are located in the Eora Nation, who are the original custodians of what is now Sydney and New South Wales.
“There’s enormous acknowledgement and respect for the original landowners and so they’re really working on that.
“We have beautiful native species here as well, they were showing me remnant trees, trees that would have been here before the garden was opened, which is lovely that they’re still incorporated within the site.”
During her tenure at the foundation, Ciara hopes to rally even more support for the gardens.
“I suppose what I’ve really been brought in to do is to help get the message out around the really extraordinary work that’s happening here, and find donors and supporters who want to engage and really give and contribute to the gardens and its work in a meaningful and transformational way.
“We have a really broad base here of supporters and donors, you know every-people, one dollar all the way through to the tens or even hundreds or even millions of dollars.
“I suppose I want to make sure that anyone who has any kind of inclination to support this kind of work is fully aware that we’re here and that we can help them find meaning in their philanthropy.”
While she may live far away, Ciara still receives support from her friends and family who remain in Mullingar. Currently she has her mother over to visit.
“Everyone has been reaching me out and messaging and wishing me the best of luck, which is lovely.
“It’s a great town and I have lots of lovely, good people there who are still my very best friends, even though I’m a long time out of the town.”
Published:
Sat 31 Jan 2026, 8:00 AM
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