About the Book
A moving memoir of grief, healing, and the unbreakable bond between man and dog, set against the lush backdrop of rural Ireland.
After the sudden loss of his father, film scholar and father of two boys, Dara Waldron finds unexpected solace in Ireland's East Clare region. There, on an abandoned farm, he encounters a lone, enigmatic border collie Oscar. What begins as an animal rescue gradually evolves into a profound companionship that helps Waldron navigate his grief.
Oscar is no ordinary dog. A working sheepdog by nature, his instincts pull him to charge ahead yet always return. As Waldron embarks on daily walks through misty woodlands and along rugged hillsides, their bond deepens. Each step through the Irish countryside becomes part of a ritual of recovery, trust, and understanding.
In spare, lyrical prose and accompanied by cinematic images of Oscar's life, A Sheepdog Named Oscar is more than a story of a man and his dog it's a meditation on place, memory, the call of the wild, and the quiet strength found in nature and companionship. With reflections on cinema, art, and animal consciousness, Waldron crafts a uniquely soulful memoir that explores the emotional terrain of loss and the redemptive power of connection.
For readers of Jon Katz, Helen Macdonald, and nature-infused memoirs, A Sheepdog Named Oscar is a poignant reminder that sometimes the path to healing begins with a four-legged guide.
About the Author :
Dara Waldron is a film scholar and author of two monographs and multiple articles in international film journals and magazines. His 2018 book New Nonfiction Film: Art, Poetics and Documentary Theory is a standard reference for documentary filmmaking courses across the globe. He teaches Critical and Contextual studies at Limerick School of Art and Design and has been a visiting Professor at Aalto University in Helsinki, LUCA School of Arts in Brussels, and the Ethnography Lab at University of Colorado, Boulder. In 2023 he published a study of sheepherding traditions that formed the background forA Sheepdog Named Oscar, his first memoir. Born in Manchester and raised in Ireland, he currently lives on the border between County Limerick and Tipperary in Ireland's Midwest, close to the gates of well-known Glenstal Abbey and its school, which feature prominently in his memoir.
Review :
"A beautiful, vulnerable, polymathic book that traverses art and animal; the rescue and recovery of Oscar and author; and the belonging of each to the other in their own particular way."
—Jack Anderson, Irish Examiner
"Freely traveling between philosophical reflection and rural knowledge, Dara Waldron explores the fluid divide between the animal and human world. A Sheepdog Named Oscar also makes you realize how important landscape and weather are to our thinking. His moving book in essence is about responsibility and what it means for humans 'to take care'." —Peter Delpeut
"Set against the landscapes of west Limerick and east Clare, through local walking trails and moments of quiet reflection, Waldron shares a moving account of loss and recovery that resonates with emotional honesty."—Limerick Leader
"Since my sister-in-law works her border collies tending sheep on Strang Ranch [frequent host of the US Border Collie Handlers Association Sheepdog Finals] in Carbondale, Colorado, where I’ve spent many summers, I’m familiar with the eccentricities of that breed. Dara Waldron, though, enlarged my understanding of the border collie-human relationship through the unique lens he offers on one unusual partnership. Braiding grief, groundedness, and the generosity of the more than human world, Dara Waldron’s writing gently tugs us into the place and spirit at the heart of his experience, making this much more than a dog story. —Judy Strang, executive director, Pedlar River Institute’s Sourwood Forest Artist Residency program, Amherst County, VA
"What wins one's heart is not just the almost indecently elegant writing, writing that really does justify the descriptor "Proustian," but Dara Waldron is right on time with this deeply personal memoir that explores extra-human sentience as part of a relationship cemented through grief, growth, and regeneration." —Aryan Kaganof
"This lovely book gives great insight into the history and inner lives of the working sheepdog in Ireland. It charts the challenges that they face as they provide the companionship and loyalty that truly earns them the title of man's best friend. Unfortunately, humans frequently fail to reach the level of a dog's best friend, and these beautiful dogs are often misunderstood and let down by the humans they worship. As a rescue based in Connemara, where up to 70% of our intake is a Border Collie, Sheepdog, or crossbreed of them, we see just how often these beautiful dogs are abandoned, discarded and left to their fate, redundant and surplus to requirements. However, we also see just how many people like Dara step up to support these incredible creatures and offer them the life, love and security that they deserve. —Marina Fiddler, Co-founder of MADRA Dog Rescue, Galway, Ireland
