John O’Reilly wants to see the woods for the trees

After 30 years in forestry the CEO of NewGen wants to grow native Irish trees on 1000s of hectares

John O'Reilly of NewGen Forestry. Photo: Mark Condren

Samantha McCaughren

John O’Reilly has spent 30 years making a living out of forestry but doesn’t just see timber as a commodity. He has always been a big nature lover. “That would have been my primary driver on day one,” he says of his career choice. “I’d have been a mouth open, David Attenborough watcher on telly all the time, always was.”