Hi all.

My name is Anthony O’Connor. I’m a photographer, writer, East Asian medicine practitioner and educator based in Co. Clare, Ireland. I’m on the left in the photo.

My interest in China began in my teens and led to me enrolling in University College Cork’s Chinese Studies degree programme and moving to Shanghai at age 20. I later qualified as an acupuncturist and tuina practitioner at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University and then as a herbalist with the University of Westminster, London.

During my study I became fascinated with the immense complexity of the human being, the various causes of disease (internal, external, social, emotional, environmental and many others) and the staggering variety and creativity of the ways we have treated these conditions. Identifying the roots of pain and ways of addressing it are themes I explore widely in my writing, both academic and fiction.

I am a part-time lecturer and clinic supervisor with the Northern College of Acupuncture in the UK, student liaison officer for the UK - Taiwan Academy of Traditional Medicine and consultant practitioner for Herbprime herbal medicine suppliers.

My photographic work focuses on artists, crafters, musicians and small sustainable businesses, who play an irreplaceable role in the health of communities and has been featured in the Irish Times, the Guardian, the Sunday Business Post and the Independent, as well as being used in projects funded by Creative Ireland.

A long time ago in another lifetime I spent a few years getting a degree in Music, the study of which has guided how I’ve studied everything since. Also, I don’t think they let live in Clare unless you can play an instrument.

I am also co-host of the “Weshtern Philosophy” podcast with Bart Lever, which explores unseen influences on our lives through the lens of music, mystery and magic, and which is altogether too high-falutin’ for its own good.