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Finbarr Toesland

Finbarr Toesland

Investigative journalist
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Visiting the Global Migration Institute

Spring 2026

Finbarr Toesland is a multi-award winning investigative journalist committed to illuminating vital human rights stories and underreported issues. 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 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.

In recognition of his work as an investigative journalist, Finbarr was named in the inaugural Q100 list by the Cambridge University LGBT+ Alumni Association.

Research focus while a Bridging Divides Fellow

During his fellowship, Finbarr's project will explore how queer migrants use digital networks to navigate displacement, build community and find safety. He aims to develop new methodologies for his reporting, combining qualitative interviews, digital ethnography and data-informed analysis, to more rigorously document how LGBTQ+ migrants experience integration in both physical and digital spaces. He'll work with community organisations supporting LGBTQ+ migrants in Toronto, and gather insights on how digital tools facilitate integration and wellbeing.

Publications and Reports

(2025) "'I hope we won’t die’: What it’s like to live through Putin’s blitz on Kyiv (external link) ". The i Paper.

(2024) ““Life Is The Most Precious Gift We Have”: Ukrainian Fashion Week Returns To Kyiv (external link) ". British Vogue.

(2025) "Exporting Conversion Therapy (external link) ". The Progressive Magazine.