Anthony Holten

Anthony (Tony) Holten was born in 1945. He was the author of several books, including "A Stroke of Luck", "Where Toll Roads Meet", "On Ancient Roads", "Of Other Days", "High Kings to Seakings", and "The River Boyne".

He was an engineer for Shell, travelling around the world during his marine engineering days in the Merchant Navy, and later continued his career working on offshore oil and gas fields worldwide.

In the 1980s, he worked for Marathon on the Kinsale Head gas field. He and his family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia for his work.

In 1999, he suffered a stroke, and had to re-learn the use of his right arm and leg. He began work on his first book after a long period of rehabilitation. Titled "A Stroke of Luck", it was about his experience. The book was published by Nonsuch Ireland (an imprint of The History Press) in 2007. Reviews called it a "funny, inspiring and telling account" and a "disturbing insight into the Irish health system."

He also authored "On Ancient Roads" and "Where Toll Roads Meet", history books focusing on roads around Tara in County Meath.

His other books include "High Kings To Seakings" about his time with Shell and "Of Other Days" about his childhood.

His final published book "The River Boyne" was about the river of the same name. The Irish Times remarked that it "invoked the work of Sir William Wilde."

He was an advocate for stroke survivors and chairman of the Cork Stroke Support Group, giving talks at medical conferences, hospitals, and universities. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Irish Heart Foundation's "Life after Stroke Awards" Boehringer Ingelheim Stroke Champion Award.