Don Conroy

Don Conroy
Nationality	Irish
Other names	"Uncle Don", " The Don"
Education	Life drawings and culture at the National College of Art and Design
Occupation	Artist
Employer	Self-employed, free-lance, RTÉ
Known for	Preserving wildlife, teaching the children of Ireland how to draw, encouraging out of this work experiences
Title	Mister
Term	27 years
Children	five
Website
http://www.donconroy.com/

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.^[3]

References

1. ^ "Don Conroy: Artist, Environmentalist, TV Personality, Writer". Personally Speaking. Accessed 14 November 2008.
2. ^ "Irish Wildlife Artist Don Conroy Joins Patrick Kavanagh to Launch The 2005 Esso Schools Wildlife Challenge". ESSO. Accessed 14 November 2008.
3. ^ "Let's Read Books!". Don Conroy. Accessed 14 November 2008.

External links

• Official site
• The Art of Don video archive on The Den's site

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Name	Conroy, Don
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