Gerald Fleming is an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 meteorologist

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

 and weather presenter. He joined Met Éireann

Met Éireann

Met Éireann is the national meteorological service in Ireland, part of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.-History:...

 in 1980 and has worked as co-ordinator of the RTÉ Television

RTÉ Television

RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...

 weather team. He is currently Head of Forecasting in Met Éireann.

Early and personal life

He was born in County Wexford

County Wexford

County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...

, where he still lives today. He attended a local Christian Brothers school. He is married to Mary Duggan, an architect, and has three children.

He has been involved with the Wexford Swimming Club and the Wexford Arts Centre.

Career

Fleming attended University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

 where he studied for four years. He earned a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 in Experimental Physics

Experimental physics

Within the field of physics, experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines concerned with the observation of physical phenomena in order to gather data about the universe...

. In 1980 he achieved a Master of Science

Master of Science

A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...

 following two years of research in the Atmospherics Group of the UCD Physics Department. When he left university, he moved straight to Irish Met Service

Met Éireann

Met Éireann is the national meteorological service in Ireland, part of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.-History:...

. After sixteen months training, he was deployed to Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...

 as an aviation forecaster. He moved to the Glasnevin

Glasnevin

Glasnevin is a largely residential neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland.-Geography:A mainly residential neighbourhood, it is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin . It was originally established on the northern bank of the River Tolka...

 base two years later.

He gave his first weather forecast in July 1985. In 1990, he was made co-ordinator of weather at RTÉ Television

RTÉ Television

RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...

. While on television he was noted for his tendency to wink

Wink

A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signalling shared hidden knowledge or intent, which may also include, in some contexts, sexual attraction....

.

He has served as Chairperson of the International Association of Broadcast Meteorology and Co-Chair of the First World Conference on Broadcast Meteorology. He has also chaired the Expert Team on Media Issues for the World Meteorological Organisation.

Fleming is currently Head of the General Forecasting Division in Met Éireann. In this position he has been a representative of Met Éireann to the media. He is a regular contributor to Mooney

Mooney (radio programme)

Mooney is an Irish radio programme broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. Presented by Derek Mooney, the programme airs Monday to Friday from 15:00 to 16:30....

on RTÉ Radio 1

RTÉ Radio 1

RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...

.
Furthermore, he is the treasurer of the International Association of Broadcast Meteorology (IABM).