Finbarr Toesland
Member since 2026
I joined the UK Young Academy to help turn rigorous thinking into meaningful change, especially on issues affecting marginalised communities and democratic futures.
Bio
Finbarr Toesland is a multi-award-winning journalist whose work focuses on human rights, LGBTQ issues, extremism and migration. His reporting combines investigative methods with on-the-ground reporting, and has been published by NBC News, BBC, Reuters, British Vogue, VICE, The Telegraph, Prospect, The i Paper and openDemocracy, among others.
Finbarr has reported from more than 18 countries across Europe and beyond. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, he has made multiple reporting trips to Ukraine, covering alleged war crimes, cultural resistance and civilian resilience. His investigations have examined Europe’s covert conversion therapy networks and the experiences of LGBTQ refugees.
He is a fellow of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, International Journalists’ Programmes (IJP) and the John Schofield Trust, and studied at University College London and the University of Cambridge. He is the recipient of the Tenacious Journalist Award 2025.
