Friday, January 7, 2011

Don Conroy on the Radio



Yes, Ireland's answer to Rolf Harris, the fantastic Don Conroy is gracing the Sunday Scrapbook this weekend, and bringing us through some of his thoughts on a passion of his that may surprise some listeners - the theme he has chosen is: "Gothic Romance"
I feel like I know him, since his days on 80's and 90's kids TV, teaching us how to draw a squirrel with nothing but a couple of circles and a few squiggles - he's like the MacGuyver of drawing, and I have lots of fond memories of drawing along with him, and reading his lovely books written from the point of view of animals.
His wikipedia page says this:
"Don Conroy is an Irish children's author, artist, conservationist and television personality. His artistic and literary work centres around a wildlife theme. "Uncle Don",[1] as he affectionately known, is heavily involved in wildlife conservation work in Ireland and has made regular appearances on The Den since 1986, the longest continually serving member of the crew. He makes regular public appearances at various schools, libraries and other public places, where he entertains children with stories and drawings of various animals, in much the same capacity as his role on The Den. His favourite animal is a hobbit.
Conroy studied life drawings and culture at the National College of Art and Design and then worked as designer and illustrator for advertising agencies as well as in the theatre. A keen naturalist, he is actively involved in conservation. Don played an important part in the highly successful project to reintroduce the Golden Eagle to Ireland, as well as establishing a sanctuary for whales and dolphins in Irish waters (the first of its kind in Europe). One of his favourite items to draw is the Barn Owl; it has inspired him to write a poem and draw many pictures over the years and it was the subject of his drawing at a Vicar Street reunion of The Den held by Today FM's The Ray D'Arcy Show on 14 November 2008. [2]
His greatest literary works include the Wings trilogy: On Silent Wings, Wild Wings and Sky Wings, as well as Vampire Journal, Vampire at St. Michan's and The Celestial Child. He has also written Cartoon Fun with Don Conroy and a follow-up, Wildlife Fun with Don Conroy; both are intended as drawing aids. These are available for purchase at Amazon.com"

He will be on the radio with me at 4pm (4pm in Casablanca) this Sunday evening, on Liffey Sound - 96.4 - listen live on the web link on the right there, or catch up on the archives later.

5 comments:

Peter Goulding said...

Should be a good 'un

Louise said...

Looking forward to listening in!

Maura said...

wow, that's quite a catch!

Cad said...

Hmm... I need to do some followup research on this one...

Niamh B said...

Thanks folks, hope ye enjoyed if ye tuned in!