Seán Ronayne - “Being a new father is like living a magical new life”
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How did Sean Ronayne’s life change when he became a father?
Sean Ronane, good morning. Hi Brendan, how are you? So Sean, uh people will know you're an ornithologist, an activist, an archivist of Irish bird song. And also since we last spoke, a father. In fact, do you remember the last time we were talking, nearly two years ago? You were just about to become a father. Uh you were nervous at that stage about when it might happen or or did did Lia show up on on uh schedule or
That's what I was gonna say to you. The last time I spoke to you, you uh you instigated a childbirth. Because Lya was due in two weeks. Yeah, she was due in she was due in two weeks and I was up here to promote my book and all the arra arrangements were made in Cork and I was thinking, geez, what would happen if she uh jumped ship in Dublin and uh the next day it happened. Um but uh luckily I was a bit worried about it, so my publisher's put me in the hotel closest to the the national maternity word. And so I got a taxi and and that was it. But
So your daughter was born in Dublin.
Yeah, I'm gonna have to bring in a I'm gonna have to bring the dove into the family.
How is being a father? Has it changed everything? Oh, it's
uh it's really beautiful. Um it's it's it's like I'm living a new life, you know. It's it I never I never knew it would be so intensely magical and beautiful really. Um, you know Uh Laia's away with Alva now for a few days because we we've just moved house and everything's been ripped out and I I miss her so much, you know. But uh it's like I'm reliving everything through her eyes as well, you know, and going back and I'm slowing down and I'm seeing things that I'd forgotten about.
What magical moments does Sean notice in his daughter’s love of nature?
And just to see the joy in her face at at connecting with nature and Imitating the bird just s like I did. Is she? Oh she is she imitates over eighteen species now. Um Hang on. She's two. She's not even two. She's not two yet. And so it all began With like the the simple ones and like she loves reading. So like we throw out the telly we throw out the telly when she was born. Like we've no telly cancelled her Netflix subscription. And uh you know, no screen, so she she adores books and and nature, you know. I may have had something to do with that now, like but uh yes, like she she imitates wood pigeon, hooded crow, great tit, um curloo. She can't pronounce her yet, so like when she imitates Curloo she says Curloo and she's just uh she's just the most adorable little thing, like and so we're where we've known moved now, we're right above the estuary and I I left
the door open when we we moved in first and there were Curlew's calling and echoing in through the living room and she she pointed and started to to call Curlew out the window, you know. And I think that's um That's so beautiful. And it's also you know, it's also reminder that I think we're all born We're all born loving nature, you know, into a world where we love nature, but somewhere along the line I think life becomes a bit hectic and a bit m mad and we get distracted by things that don't really matter as as much as as we think they do. Um you know there was another day I came in and she was waving like she was waving in the room on her own to some somebody, I thought. And it wasn't until I stopped I realised she was waving at an ant, like, you know.
And I thought like I I I I acted like that too, I laughed, but then I thought, geez, like she sees the value in waving to this tiny little, you know, seemingly insignificant little thing and uh and that's that's immensely beautiful and I think that If a lot of the you know, the so called world leaders of today were ant wavers, I think we'd live in a in a in a much better place, you
know.
How does Sean’s autism shape his parenting style and daily routines?
Yeah. But uh You see we get ant waving knocked out of us. Exactly, yeah. It's not gonna happen. We should all do a bit of ant waving. Um i i is does autism make being a dad harder, easier, different?
Well I mean, I don't know, like because I only know my own experience. Um but like I guess I guess I get overwhelmed at times, but you know, it doesn't everybody. Um I think there's pros and cons and my pros and cons are different to other people's pros and cons and and and that's that, you know.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Sean Ronayne’s life change when he became a father?
0:00–1:34
2
What magical moments does Sean notice in his daughter’s love of nature?
1:34–3:24
3
How does Sean’s autism shape his parenting style and daily routines?
3:24–4:35
4
What role did the late Manchán Magan play in inspiring Sean’s touring show?
4:35–6:43
5
What is the concept behind Sean’s new live show “Untold Sounds”?
6:43–8:58
6
How is climate change affecting the Irish landscape and wildlife according to Sean?
8:58–11:11
7
What surprising insect species are appearing in Ireland this summer?
11:11–13:16
8
What can listeners expect from Sean’s upcoming podcast “The Sean Chorus”?
13:16–14:56