Dara’s new book published to wide acclaim and on Radio 4

Dara’s new book published to wide acclaim and on Radio 4

27 May 2020

IN the natural, wild world, where things hop, slither or crawl, Dara McAnulty feels totally alive and at one with himself.

Once, where he struggled to make friends and even communicate with people due to his autism, the Castlewellan teenager has now found himself as an up and coming star in the naturalist community.

At the age of 16 he has just had his first book – The Diary of a Young Naturalist – published to great acclaim.

When you are mentioned in the same breath as Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, it means you’re got the attention of a distinct group of influencers.

A student at Shimna Integrated College in Newcastle, Dara first began to write a blog in 2016 about his fascination and observations about nature when he lived with his family in Co Fermanagh.

Given that his father is a conservation scientist, it is perhaps no surprise that Dara turned to the natural world as his playground.

He and the rest of his family —parents Paul and Roisin, brother Lorcan and sister Bláthnaid— who have been living in Castlewellan for just over a year, are delighted that the book has been published.

And listeners to BBC Radio 4 will also be delighted because The Diary of a Young Naturalist is this week’s Book of the Week and Dara will be reading extracts every morning at 9.45am

The book is already connecting with younger readers and Dara has become not only a voice for the young naturalists, but also for children and people with autism.

Unfortunately, the official launch and signing events have been cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown, but he recently got his hands on his own book ahead of publication.

“Today I held my finished book in my hand for the first time,” he said. “It’s a moment that I’ll never forget and will cherish forever. I’m so proud as an autistic teenager, to tell a story, a real story — that some will identify with and find comfort in. I feel very privileged and humbled to have been given this remarkable opportunity.

“I’m so stunned by the reaction to my book and I’m utterly thrilled that many more people might experience the world a little differently than before. “

Patrick Barkham, who is a best-selling natural history writer, said of Dara’s work: “This beautiful and wise book will be the nature writing hit of 2020. The writing! It makes me feel like punching the air!”

Diagnosed with autism at the age of five, Dara found that he felt happier being in the midst of nature.

“I can’t speak for all autistic people, but I feel things more intensely,” he told the Guardian newspaper recently.

“In a shopping centre there’s all of those different noises coming from different angles — my brain can’t process them quickly enough, and everything goes completely crazy.

Being out in nature, the sounds are quite level and I find it easier with muted colours. Everything just works. It’s not oppressive.”

Dara began to write his thoughts down as his way of “processing the world” around him and the publisher, Little Toller, felt that his blogs were worth developing into a book.

The book is the latest in a line of accomplishments for by Dara. In June 2017, he was awarded the BBC Springwatch Unsprung Wildlife Hero Award, with presenter Chris Packham describing him as his “hero”.

He has also appeared on BBC Northern Ireland’s Homeground programme and last March, he and his brother represented Shimna College’s Shoots and Roots group which was shortlisted in the Jane Goodall Awards ceremony in London.

Last November Dara also won the Royal Society for the Prevention of Birds Medal in recognition of his contribution to conservation.

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty is published by Little Toller (RRP £16) and can be bought online or at No Alibis bookshop in Belfast.