Finbarr was born in Swansea, Wales in 1971. He holds both British and Canadian citizenship. He started his journalism career as an Arts correspondent for Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper before moving on to the National Post. He joined Reuters in October 2001 as a freelance correspondent in Kinshasa, Congo. Finbarr turned towards photography in 2005 and now works as the Reuters chief photographer for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal. In 2006 Finbarr won the World Press Photo of the Year Award.