He walked away from the Catholic priesthood to forge a different spiritual path on the island of Inis Mór.
He said it was like “stepping off the cliffs of Dún Aonghasa, into the darkness, into an unknown future”.
Originally from Malahide, Co Dublin, he entered the Marist seminary at Mount St Mary's in Milltown at the age of 18, joining the Society of Mary (Marists) to train as a priest.
He took his lifelong vows at 22 and was ordained six years later.
“From a young age, I wanted to be a priest,” he says.
“I didn't know what it meant. Every family wanted one son a priest. I was that person. As soon as I entered, I started to struggle. They wanted me to wear a black soutane and I didn't want to. I was difficult from the word go. I didn't like to be institutionalised. I wanted to serve people.”
Dara went ahead with his training and says he “survived ten years” as the rules gradually became more relaxed.
“The Vatican Council loosened the tight ropes,” he explained.
“I had started by wearing the soutane and finished in jeans and T-shirt, long hair.”
However, that sense of freedom was short-lived. As soon as he was ordained, he had to wear the long clerical garment again and was uncomfortable with what he felt was being placed on a pedestal in society.
He had also taken a vow of poverty but felt the religious life before him was anything but.
“People called me 'Father' and I hated that,” he said.
“I didn't feel I was poor at all. I had all my bills paid for, I didn't have to worry about money. The house was cleaned, my clothes were washed. I became very frustrated with the way it was working out. I wanted to be a priest but not in this way.”
A year in Rome did little to improve his outlook.
“It was the belly of the beast,” he said. “It didn't bring me any warmer feelings. You can see the patriarchy, wealth and power. That didn't impress me one bit.”
He went on to teach Maths, Science and Religion at St Mary's College Secondary School in Dundalk, where he also became Spiritual Director and counsellor.
“It was regimental and controlled,” he said. “Schooling is like that. I was caught in an institution and I was trapped.”
A chance visit to Inis Mór with a youth prayer group in 1982 transformed the course of his life. Three years later, he returned to live there permanently.
“I visited the Aran Islands by chance with a group of people,” he explained.
“I saw these monastic ruins and imagined a new way of life - one of Irish language and culture, Latin and Greek translations, old documents - it all excited me. I wanted to get back to my cultural roots, to get back to growing my own food. I wanted to live that way. They let me come for six months in 1985 and I never went back.”
Initially, he lived as a Celtic hermit, following in the footsteps of St Enda, regarded as the father of Irish monasticism.
During that time, Dara helped the parish priest with prayer services and set up a House of Hospitality for spiritual seekers.
“We had everyone from down-and-outs and alcoholics to bishops, nuns and an abbot,” he said.
“I had touched a nerve. People were interested.”
He embraced a frugal life, living in a wooden hut. Fascinated by Ireland's spiritual heritage stretching back to pagan times, he immersed himself in the stories of Lugh, Balor and Fionn mac Cumhaill.
A turning point came when he began leading pilgrimages to the island's 10 monastic sites. In 1996, he left the priesthood behind and became a celebrant.
“I am attracted to an ancient Irish way of being Christian,” he said.
“We have an amazing spiritual heritage. It is non institutional and non authoritarian. There is plenty of room and different ways of being Christian. I am not interested in the Roman Catholic Church. It became a colonising force.”
When he started out, few people were looking for ceremonies outside the Church and he was “completely exposed” financially. He bought a plot of land and began building a traditional thatched home from sand and stone.
“I didn't have much money for a long time,” he said.
“I never felt poor or struggling or a victim. I chose this way of life and I was embracing it. I had nothing to fall back on and I didn't go on the dole. I started building my own house with my own hands.”
The local community came together to help build the home, which “didn't cost a lot of money”. He also ran youth programmes under the European Voluntary Service. Life changed once again when his children were born.
Dara married his partner, Tess Harper, in 1997 and they have four children: Tuán, Macha, Surnaí and Anú.
All four were home-schooled, successfully sat their Leaving Certificate examinations, and three have completed their college education.
“I was very anti school,” he said.
“We reared our kids without sending them to school and that became important work for us. It didn't negatively affect them. Three have gone to college and come out the far side. It gave them a sense of freedom about making their own choices in life.”
Demand for his work as a celebrant grew and he began writing books on Celtic spirituality. His passion for learning never waned from the days he spent discovering books in Kenny's Bookshop in Galway city. Already steeped in the Gospel, he pursued Ireland's spiritual heritage with equal fervour.
“I was so thirsty and hungry, I would remember every bit of it,” he said.
“I started to get to know the writers. They were in America - not here at all. I read their books and went to conferences. Germans in particular are interested in the Irish tradition.”
He also became friends with the late poet, philosopher and former priest John O'Donohue, and Kerry philosopher and mystic John Moriarty, whose writings drew together Celtic mythology, Christianity and the natural world.
“I found something really precious, our own Irish heritage,” he said.
“I knew nothing about it. I discovered more and more of a treasure than I ever imagined.
“It's still there but it is dormant. It includes our music, poetry, dancing – different artistic expressions. It is not an isolated spirituality.”
At 77, Dara shows little sign of slowing down.
In October, he will release his latest book, 'The Celtic Way'.
He also features in 'Breith Beatha Bás', a new four-part series on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
The programme follows a community of celebrants and solemnisers as they help people across Ireland mark some of life's most emotionally charged moments.
The series captures intimate stories of families welcoming new arrivals, couples preparing for marriage, communities gathering in celebration, and loved ones saying their final goodbyes.
“I haven't slowed down at all,” he says.
“We still grow our own food, I eat the right food, take plenty of exercise and sleep well.”
For more information, visit daramolloy.com.