Don Conroy is an Irish artist,

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

, television personality and writer of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. His artistic and literary work focuses on natural themes, including wildlife. He works for

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

in Ireland and made regular appearances on ''

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which it ...

'' since it began in 1986, becoming the longest continually serving member of the cast.

Early life and education

Don Conroy grew up in

Donnybrook, Dublin Donnybrook () is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It was once part of the Pemb ...

, near Herbert Park. He has four siblings. He attended the Christian Brothers school in Stillorgan. He was encouraged by his mother and extended family to draw. Conroy studied at the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

and then worked as designer and illustrator for advertising agencies as well as in the theatre. He was in amateur dramatic productions with the Lantern Theatre and the Guinness Players, and was awarded a diploma from The Royal Irish Academy in Speech and Drama. He appeared as an extra in a number of films in the 1970s and 1980s, including ''

The Big Red One ''The Big Red One'' is a 1980 American epic war film written and directed by Samuel Fuller, and starring Lee Marvin alongside an ensemble supporting cast, including Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Siegfried Rauch, Bobby Di Cicco, and Kelly Ward. ...

''.

Career

Conroy made his first appearance on Irish television in 1982 on the '' Late Late Show'', going on to present his own show, ''Paint For Fun.'' From 1986 Conroy made regular appearances on ''

'', becoming the longest continually serving member of the cast. He has also appears publicly, at libraries, schools and elsewhere, where he entertains children with stories and drawings of various animals, in much the same capacity as his role on ''The Den''. After The Den, Conroy hosted his own show again, ''The Art of Don.'' One of his favourite animals is the

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

. Conroy appeared at Electric Picnic giving art classes. In 2020, Conroy restarted ''Draw with Don'' as a

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channel in response to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

social restrictions in Ireland.

Conservation

Conroy played a part in the project to reintroduce the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

to Ireland, was involved in establishing a sanctuary for

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

s and

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

s in Irish waters, and other events highlighting issues relating to endangered animals and habitats such as World Curlew Day 2020. He is an honorary member and patron of the

Irish Peatland Conservation Council The Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC; ) is a national charitable organisation established in 1982 to conserve and protect a representative sample of Republic of Ireland, Irish bogs, and to campaign on bog-related issues. History Having bee ...

Selected writing

* ''Wings'' trilogy: ''On Silent Wings'', ''Wild Wings'' and ''Sky Wings'' * ''Cartoon Fun with Don Conroy'' * ''Vampire Journal'' * ''What the Owl Saw'' * ''The Fox's Tale'' * ''Joey's Big Day'' * ''The Bookworm Who Turned Over a New Leaf'' * ''Elephant at the Door''

Family

Conroy has five children, and has a home in County Wexford, near Enniscorthy.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Don Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the National College of Art and Design Birdwatchers Irish artists Irish cartoonists Irish children's writers Irish environmentalists Place of birth missing (living people) Irish horror writers Irish illustrators Irish mystery writers Irish television personalities Conservationists 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century male writers 21st-century Irish writers 21st-century Irish male writers People educated at Oatlands College