Éamon de Buitléar is an independent filmmaker and has been involved in natural history programmes for many years. His series Amuigh Faoin Spéir (Out Under The Sky) gave audiences their very first opportunity to watch programmes on Ireland’s wildlife. He has had a regular series of programmes on the home station ever since his early days of broadcasting.

His award winning wildlife TV series, Ireland's Wild Countryside, was consistently in RTE's Top Ten programmes. A recent 24 part series Wild Islands, was commissioned by RTE, STV and S4C. The programmes featured the wildlife of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. His films on Ireland for the BBC’s Natural History Unit, have been seen coast to coast in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Éamon de Buitléar has written several books, including one having the same title as his TV series Ireland's Wild Countryside, which was published by Boxtree. His recent autobiography A Life in the Wild, was published by Gill & McMillan.
A recent six-part series under the title A Life in the Wild, was commissioned by RTE. It involved re-visiting many of the locations filmed as far back as the 60's, when Éamon and the Dutch artist Gerrit Van Gelderen joined forces to produce Ireland's very first wildlife series.

One particular location featured in the series was the Great Blasket Island off the south-west coast of Ireland, where Éamon de Buitléar and sound-man Pat Hayes, along with several birdwatchers were marooned for 5 days! The TV crew and the birdwatchers, were eventually rescued by the Valentia Lifeboat. In this series Éamon's youngest son Cian, filmed his father recounting his adventures in those various locations, including the Great Blasket Island.

Another location in that early series was the Azores archipelago, where the Amuigh Faoin Spéir team made their very first overseas trip. The historic island of Terceira in the Azores was re-visited for this series, where new material was filmed and recorded.

A documentary/feature film ISLANDMAN, was filmed on the west-coast of Ireland in 2001. Directed by Éamon de Buitléar and filmed by Cian, this project received funding from Bord Scannán na hÉireann - The Irish Film Board and Foras na Gaeilge. ISLANDMAN is a film about an exceptional race of people and of one man in particular, Johnny Bailey, whose life was so different to our own that he might well have come from a different planet.

The most recent Irish language wildlife series Éiníní and An Saol Beo, transmitted on TG4, have also received high audience ratings.

Éamon de Buitléar’ most recent overseas filming expedition was to Bermuda where he directed a film for Irish American producer Deirdre Brennan, a two-time Emmy nominated designer for theatre, TV and film. The story of how conservationist David Windgate saved the cahow, Bermuda’s only endemic seabird from extinction and turned Nonsuch Island into a living natural history museum is a truly remarkable tale of one man’s extraordinary vision, passion and dedication.

Éamon de Buitléar was creator of the first-ever Irish made animated musical TV cartoon series for children called Lúidín Mac Lú. It was a story about a little white mouse and its friend a colourful leprechaun, who played traditional Irish music on the tin whistle. Éamon had already invented the Lúidín character for radio and the music for both the radio and the TV series was cleverly arranged and played by Paddy Moloney of Chieftains fame.

Éamon was a founder member of Ceoltóirí Cualann, the famous folk-orchestra created by the composer Seán Ó Riada, in which Éamon played the button-accordian. Many of Ó Riada's traditional musicians were later to form the basis for the now famous traditional group The Chieftains.

When Seán Ó Riada died in 1972, Éamon de Buitléar formed his own non-professional traditional music group, Ceoltóirí Laighean. The group played on TV and radio and travelled to Continental Europe. Two commercial discs were recorded under the Gael-Linn label and some of those early recordings are to be re-issued by Gael-Linn at the end of 2006.
Éamon de Buitléar was a former member of the National Heritage Council and past President of Birdwatch Ireland. He is a present serving member of the Central Fisheries Board.

In recognition of his work for the environment, Éamon was nominated to the Seanad (Senate) in 1987 as a non-party Independent Senator.
In 1991 he was awarded an Honorary Degree in Science (DSc.) by the National University of Ireland.
Éamon de Buitléar was granted the 1992 UCD (University College Dublin) Lifetime Environmental Achievement Award in recognition of a lifetime devoted to the achievement of the conservation and wise use of Ireland's environmental endowment.