Beginner’s pluck: Ornithologist and environmental communicator Seán Ronayne

Leaving university during Ireland’s recession of 2009/10, Seán felt lost.

“I moved to Northumberland and became a nature guide on boats,” he says.

“After the shame of being unemployed for 18 months, I worked three jobs, also in a bar and a takeaway.”

Then, at 22, I shadowed a professor of ornithology and went home to study for a second MA.

While studying, he worked in a bar and met Alba.

“She saved me from myself.”

In 2019, having travelled in south-east Asia, the couple moved to Barcelona, where Seán taught English until lockdown struck.

“We were stuck in the building, and I started recording through the night, capturing migrating birds. I’d found my calling.”

Meanwhile, during an academic course, Alba realised that Sean was autistic, something that made absolute sense of his life.

The couple returned to Ireland at Christmas 2020, and Seán worked as an ornithologist doing pre-construction surveys.

“And I decided to sound record every bird in Ireland.”

After an appearance on The Tommy Tiernan Show, his fame spread, and led to Birdsong, a documentary shown on RTÉ television.

“It took a year to film. I had three book offers. The book was amazing to write. I went into another world.”

Who is Seán Ronayne?

Date/ place of birth: 1988/ Cobh, Co Cork.

Education: Coláiste Muire Cobh; University College, Cork, Zoology, and MAs in Marine Biology and Ecological Impact Assessment.

Home: Fota, near Cobh.

Family: Wife Alba, baby daughter Laia, and dog, Toby.

The day job: An ornithologist. “But I’m more of an environmental communicator these days.”

In another life: “I’d like to live a more organic lifestyle close to nature.”

Favourite writers: “I read books about wildlife.” The Collins Bird Guide; books by Eoghan Daltun, Padraic Fogarty, Christopher Hart, James Croney, and Richard Nairn.

Second book: “I’m working on one.”

Top tip: “Write with the handbrake off.”

Instagram: @Irishwildlifesounds.

The debut

Nature Boy

Hachette Books Ireland, €23.99/ Kindle, €13.01

This wonderful memoir detailing Seán’s passion and deep knowledge of birds, also shows how it feels to live with autism and Attention Deficit Disorder.

The verdict: Informative, passionate, and beautifully produced. A book to treasure.

Seán Ronayne is nominated for the Dubray Biography of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards (voting at irishbookawards.ie).