Tuam man up for book of the year award
Book details unique bond with dog
A TUAM man’s memoir on the loving relationship between him and his dog has been nominated for the An Post Irish Book Awards 2026.
Dara Waldron is the author of ‘A Sheepdog Named Oscar: Love and Companionship in Rural Ireland’, a New York Times Bestseller last year that is nominated in the non-fiction category of the prestigious awards which take place on December 1.
Dara is the son of the late John Waldron and his wife Mary, both well-known former GPs in Tuam, and lives in Murroe in County Limerick with his family. His grandfather, Dr. Anthony Waldron, was also a GP in Tuam.
The book covers the death of Dara’s father in 2016 following a road traffic accident, and how a Border Collie named Oscar came into his life on a farm in Kilkishen in County Clare and helped him come to terms with the passing.
The book was first published by California-based DoppleHouse Press company. It hit the shelves in the US in August of last year and was chosen as one of the top books for the month of September 2025 by Barnes & Noble, which is one of the largest bookselling chains in the US.
Simon & Schuster UK then bought the rights to publish Dara’s book in the UK and Ireland. The voiceover for the audiobook version sold in the US was done by Michael Vallely from Tuam, while Dara was on hand to do the voiceover for the audiobook for this side of the Atlantic.
Dara’s book was one of the bestselling books in Ireland during the summer following its launch in May.
“The book was launched here in Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in Galway city,” offered Dara Waldron, who works in the School of Art and Design at TUS Limerick.
“It spent 17 weeks in the top five of the Irish Times Bestsellers List and eight weeks at number two in the paperback/non-fiction section.”
The memoir went on sale in Germany, Australia and New Zealand from Thursday, October 29, having been released in Finland in August.
“I’m delighted with how it’s went. I added 15,000 words for the latest edition,” said Dara, who also has another Collie named Janey.
“The new edition has a story about me going for a swim in Kilrush and Oscar jumping into the sea with me. It’s a sign of the bond between us. It was his first time to swim.
“I had left him on the beach and had been trying to get him to swim before. It ends in West Clare and there are a lot of references to both sides of Clare, as I found Oscar in Kilkishen in East Clare.”
There are books nominated in 19 different categories of the An Post Irish Book Awards, with Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in Galway in contention for the bookshop of the year gong.
The award winners are decided between a panel vote and a public vote.
Public voting are now open on the An Post Irish Book Awards website and closes on November 13 at 6pm.