Finbarr Toesland

Focusing on human rights, LGBTQ issues, extremism and migration, his reporting combines rigorous investigative journalism with on-the-ground coverage across Europe and beyond. His journalism has appeared in NBC News, BBC, Reuters, HuffPost, British Vogue, VICE, The Telegraph, Prospect, The i Paper, openDemocracy, The Daily Beast, Byline Times and The Progressive.

Finbarr has filed stories from more than 18 countries, including Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, Malta, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, America, Czechia, Sweden, United Kingdom and France. Since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, he has conducted multiple reporting trips to Ukraine.

For The Big Issue, he explored the challenges faced by volunteer-run shelters like Hope Shelter in Przemyśl, which has hosted over 5,000 refugees since opening in October 2022, despite facing significant funding shortages; the reporting was named a finalist for the 2025 Amnesty International Media Awards.

His work for The i Paper has delved into the concerns of Ukrainians regarding potential shifts in U.S. foreign policy and the efforts of Ukrainian therapists assisting women in rebuilding their lives after experiencing sexual abuse during the conflict. He reported from the first fashion week in Ukraine since the Russian invasion for British Vogue.

Finbarr led a cross-border investigation exposing Europe’s invitation-only conversion therapy conference, which was published in several media outlets including Byline Times and German newspaper Die Tageszeitung. Supported by funding from Journalismfund Europe, this project was nominated for the True Story Award 2025. 

His six-month investigation for NBC News revealed how police departments across the U.S. are mandating LGBT training. The investigation was picked up by several publications, including Axios, and received praise from the President of the Human Rights Campaign. This reporting won the Excellence in Legal Coverage Award from the NLGJA.

As a Fellow of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity he produced a report researching the experiences of LGBTQ journalists around harassment and abuse. The report was covered by publications including The Guardian, Press Gazette, PinkNews and Gay Times and discussed in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom.

He studied at University College London and the University of Cambridge.