Niall completed a PhD in astrophysics in UCD in 1990. He is co-founder of Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) which is celebrating 17 years open to the public and more than 1.4 million visitors. BCO has trained 1200 teachers to use space in the classroom, and over 160,000 members of the public have participated in outreach events. BCO coordinate National Space Week, with over 500 events nationwide in 2024. Niall was awarded the 2020 Science Foundation Ireland Research Image of the Year for work on efficacy of masks against Covid using astrophysics techniques developed at BCO. He is Deputy Chair of the National Space Advisory Forum. Niall is a regular contributor to radio and print media and writes a monthly space column in the Irish Examiner. He is on the Board of the National Sculpture Factory and Dark Sky Ireland and advisor to three space companies. He is an avid ELO fan and enjoys ballroom dancing.