[1][2] Darling was born into an ecclesiastical family,[3] growing up in Skibbereen, County Cork, brother to Vivienne and Evelyn.
[7] Initially posted to St. Luke's parish Shankill Road for three years before moving to St. John's Orangefield Castlerea.
[9] He became an Honorary Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians in 2006 and was elected Executive President of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland at its annual conference in July 2007.
Both books feature some of his tunes and texts, the latter including adaptations, paraphrases and new versions of liturgical canticles.
He compiled the lectionary hymn-guides Choosing the Hymns (Collins, 1984) and Sing to the Word (OUP, 2000) and was joint-author with Dr. Donald Davison of Companion to Church Hymnal (Columba, 2005).