Draw With Don Conroy is back next Wednesday
Don Conroy: raising awareness of barn owls in the Irish environment
Bust into your old art supplies — or help your smallies get into theirs — because an Irish telly legend is back this Wednesday for a streaming art lesson.
Don Conroy, Irish kids' telly legend, artist and environmentalist, is hosting a live instalment of his Draw With Don segment this Wednesday, March 24 — reprising an old favourite for a generation of kids that grew up on RTÉ's afternoon kids' block The Den.
And yes, he'll be drawing barn owls — to raise awareness of the Laois Barn Owl Project, a recently-launched not-for-profit working to build awareness and conservation of the iconic birds, whose numbers have been in decline.
"My first encounter with this remarkable bird was aged 9, while on a visit to my uncle’s farm in Co. Laois," muses Conroy.
"It was late October as we strolled about and a heavy mist hung over the fields. Then I heard an unearthly shriek! I quickly held my uncle’s hand. ‘Don’t worry, he reassured me, it’s only a ‘white’ owl. Moments later, through the mist, came this ghostly bird on silent wings.
"Since that special encounter I have become fascinated with owls, especially barn owls, also called white owls or church owls. I’ve drawn this bird hundreds of times, painted pictures, written children’s novels and poems about the barn owl."
The project is working with Gas Networks Ireland to build a set of new outdoor nesting boxes for the area, made of sustainable material designed to last 20 years.
The event itself is free, but numbers are limited: pre-register now at www.gasnetworks.ie/barnowl
