Anthony Holten Explained

Anthony Holten
Nationality:Irish
Occupation:Author
Nickname:Tony Holten, Anthony Holton, Tony Holton

Anthony "Tony" Holten (3 May 1945 – 11 September 2020) was an Irish author, historian, stroke advocate, former mechanic and marine engineer.

Early days

He was born in Dowdstown, Navan in 1945. He started an apprenticeship in Navan Engineering Works as a mechanic over six years. He was a Navan Road Club member in the mid-1960s, competing in the Rás Tailteann cycling race four times. He was a member of the town's winning team in The 1968 Waller Cup Race.[1] In 1967, he was awarded the Henry Ford Award for Merit.[2]

Seafaring career and later career

In 1969, he began a career as an engineer on deep sea tankers for Shell Oil Company. Over the next ten years, he travelled extensively during his marine engineering days in the Merchant Navy prior to continuing his career working on offshore oil and gas fields worldwide.[3]

He worked for Marathon Petroleum in the 1980s, primarily on the Kinsale Head gas field. He and his family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia in the mid-1980s for his work as a marine engineer on the company's new Kakap oil and gas field on the South China Sea. When he returned to Ireland, he was based in Marathon's head office in Cork, until a stroke forced him to retire in 1999.[4]

Retirement and writing career

After suffering a stroke at the age of fifty-four, he initially lost the use of his right arm and leg and had to re-learn to use them. After a long period of rehabilitation, he began work on his first book, entitled A Stroke of Luck, about his experience and his dealings with the Irish Health System.[5] [6] The book was published by Nonsuch Ireland (an imprint of The History Press) in 2007.[7] Books Ireland called it a "funny, inspiring and telling account" and a "disturbing insight into the Irish health system".[8]

He was also the author of several in-depth history books, primarily focusing on roads (including old toll roads and road networks) and rivers in County Meath including On Ancient Roads about the road network around Tara and Where Toll Roads Meet, the latter of which gained some controversy and extra attention as it was partially about the M3 Controversy.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] This led to an incident at the book launch in Navan Library as then Irish Minister Noel Dempsey attended to give a speech about Holten and his book, and clashed with protestors who attempted to present a pig's head to the Minister.[14]

In addition to his books, he also frequently contributed pieces to other publications, usually on Irish history.[15] [16]

Holten's other books include From High Kings To Seakings about his time with Shell, Of Other Days about his childhood, and The River Boyne about the river of the same name, the latter book becoming very popular in County Meath and among Irish historians nationwide, with journalist Paul Clements remarking in The Irish Times that it "invoked the work of Sir William Wilde" and that Holten was a "pontist extraordinaire".[17] Holten regularly gave talks about his books and local history.[18]

Stroke advocacy

In addition to being an author, he was an advocate for stroke survivors and chairman of the Cork Stroke Support Group, often giving talks at medical conferences, hospitals, and universities, and was the recipient of the Irish Heart Foundation's "Life after Stroke Awards" Boehringer Ingelheim Stroke Champion Award in 2013.[19] [20] [21]

Bibliography

Books

Essays and articles

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cyclist and seafaring engineer with passion for River Boyne . Meath Chronicle.
  2. News: 29 April 1967 . Ford Award For Navan Mechanic . The Meath Chronicle .
  3. Web site: Cyclist and seafaring engineer with passion for River Boyne . Connaught Telegraph.
  4. Web site: Touching the River . Meath Chronicle.
  5. 2007 . Back Matter . Books Ireland . 291 . 0376-6039 . 20633005.
  6. 2007 . Early Autumn Shopping List: 180 New Books Due September and October from 26 Publishers . Books Ireland . 296 . 165–169 . 0376-6039 . 20624248.
  7. Book: Holten, Anthony . A Stroke of Luck . 2007 . 9781845885953.
  8. November 2007 . First Flush – page 265 in original (page 4 on JSTOR link) . Books Ireland . Wordwell Ltd. . 298 . 265 . 0376-6039 . 20633077 . JSTOR.
  9. Rountree . Kathryn . 2012 . TARA, THE M3, AND THE CELTIC TIGER: Contesting Cultural Heritage, Identity, and a Sacred Landscape in Ireland . Journal of Anthropological Research . 68 . 4 . 519–544 . 10.3998/jar.0521004.0068.404 . 24394200 . 155763811 . 0091-7710.
  10. News: Controversy over the M3 . The Irish Times.
  11. News: Eileen Battersby . 26 May 2007 . Is nothing sacred? . The Irish Times.
  12. News: Glenn Frankel . 22 January 2005 . In Ireland, Commuters vs. Kings . A01 . . 2007-06-14.
  13. Mullen . Joan . Ludlow . Francis . Naming the Land: Mapping the Meath Field Names Project . Meath Field Names Project.
  14. Web site: 25 April 2009 . Noel Dempsey On the Pig's Back? – Indymedia Ireland . https://web.archive.org/web/20090425190032/http://www.indymedia.ie:80/article/89508 . 2009-04-25.
  15. Web site: Navan Historical Society – A Milestone in Navan . 2021-04-22 . www.navanhistory.ie.
  16. Web site: Navan Historical Society – Publications . 2021-01-30 . www.navanhistory.ie.
  17. News: Clements . Paul . Local History round-up: How fields get their names, and other Co Meath nuggets . The Irish Times.
  18. Web site: Anthony's talk on the Boyne and its history . 2021-01-30 . independent .
  19. Web site: Irish Heart Foundation "Life after Stroke Awards" Stroke Champion Award – Anthony Holten – YouTube . www.youtube.com.
  20. Web site: Ring . Evelyn . 4 December 2013 . Awards prove that life can be fulfilling after a stroke . Irish Examiner.
  21. Cork Stroke Support Group Newsletter . Cork Stroke Support Group Newsletter.
  22. Book: Holten, Anthony . A stroke of luck . 12 January 2007 . Nonsuch Publishing . 9781845885953 . 316421011 . Open WorldCat.
  23. Book: Holten, Anthony . A stroke of luck . 12 January 2007 . Nonsuch Publishing . 9781845885953 . library.catalogue.tcd.ie Library Catalog.
  24. 2007 . First Flush . Books Ireland . 298 . 262–270 . 20633077 . JSTOR.
  25. Web site: Harvard Library Hollis catalogue .
  26. Book: Holten, Anthony . Where toll roads meet: exploring the road network around Tara from olden times to the current M3 controversy . January 2008 . 9781905451760 . 318670440 . Open WorldCat.
  27. Book: Holten, Anthony . Where toll roads meet: exploring the road network aroundTara from olden times to the current M3 controversy . 12 January 2008 . Choice Publishing . 9781905451760 . librarym.ucd.ie Library Catalog.
  28. Book: Holten, Anthony . Where toll roads meet: exploring the road network aroundTara from olden times to the current M3 controversy . 12 January 2008 . Choice Publishing . 9781905451760 . library many links.catalogue.tcd.ie Library Catalog.
  29. Book: Holten, Anthony . On ancient roads: recollections, history, and folklore of County Meath . 12 January 2011 . publisher not identified . 9780956991102 . 775590693 . Open WorldCat.
  30. Web site: Ancient Roads: Recollections, History and Folklore of County Meath . www.newgrange.com.
  31. Web site: Missing milestone mystery in Balrath . Meath Chronicle.
  32. Web site: New York Public Library / All Locations . catalog.nypl.org.
  33. Web site: Harvard Library Hollis catalogue . 2021-01-14 . hollis.harvard.edu .
  34. Book: Holten, Anthony . High kings to seakings. . February 2014 . 9781291704242 . 922596316 . Open WorldCat.
  35. Web site: Holten . Anthony . 12 January 2018 . Of other days: recollections of an Irish country childhood (1948–1958) . Open WorldCat.
  36. Web site: Trinity College Dublin / All Locations . library.catalogue.tcd.ie.
  37. Book: Holten, Anthony . The River Boyne: hidden legacies, history and lore explored on foot and by boat . 12 January 2016 . 1084319069 . Open WorldCat.
  38. Web site: Trinity College Dublin / All Locations . library.catalogue.tcd.ie.

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