Sustainability Graduate Spotlight - Gary Tyrrell

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for urgent, collective action to address the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges. Within this global movement, individuals across all sectors are finding new purpose in aligning their work with these goals, championing sustainability, fostering community engagement, and leading local initiatives that support a healthier planet and more equitable society. As the challenges of climate change and inequality intensify, the demand for graduates with strong sustainability expertise continues to grow.

Gary Tyrrell

Gary was so deeply moved after watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth that it sparked the idea to address climate change by following a new career path. This prompted him to begin part time study in sustainability. After Gary had re-trained, he worked in outdoor & sustainability education and was a part time lecturer in Energy Economics & Policy at TU Dublin. He completed Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Training and began delivering talks & workshops on climate change with schools, universities and community groups.

Gary complemented his studies with voluntary work, including local litter picking and tree planting, which he says was helpful in gaining experience and something he could bring to job interviews. 

Gary’s first fulltime role in his new career was with An Taisce, an environmental & sustainability organisation where he was the Neat Streets Officer responsible for an anti-litter programme aimed at secondary school students. Gary also helped set up and run the Climate Ambassador programme, a programme which sees hundreds of voluntary ambassadors every year take climate action in their local area.  

Gary is now the Climate Action Officer for South Dublin County Council. Here he manages and promotes sustainability behaviour and organisational culture change. Part of the role involves building climate action awareness and readiness across the local authority and leading and collaborating on climate action projects. Gary is excited to share that he is working on an upcoming public bike share scheme being rolled out in the south Dublin area for 2026.

Educational Experience

When Gary chose a career change first, he studied Sustainable Energy Engineering at TU Dublin (TU801). He then went on to complete a Masters in Environmental Policy at University College Dublin.

Applying new skills and knowledge

Gary says that the emphasis in the course on critical thinking was hugely advantageous in teasing out ideas and looking at issues from different viewpoints.

Gary learned the skills of report writing and the importance of including evidence bases to support points to promote environmental sustainability.  He learned how to develop ideas into clear and succinct points. Gary felt that he benefited from the emphasis on teamwork and had excellent classmates who supported each other.

Speaking more about this he says ‘We really pulled together for group study and helped each other out, bouncing projects ideas around within our group.’

What does #TUDublinSustainability mean to you?

#TUDublinSustainability to me means an opportunity for staff and students to get involved in sustainability. To be a welcoming space for everyone to learn and grow, tweaking their everyday and long-term choices into more sustainable ones and to share and connect with others, leading the way into a more sustainable future both on campus and outside in the community. All of which to ultimately lead to a more equitable, connected, healthier and happier society now and into the future.