Like everyone else I found Covid prevented me from seeing family and friends, and favourite places, for far too long. So, with apologies to anyone hoping to make an appointment, I am taking 6 months to catch up, starting from April 1st 2022, and will not be taking on new clients until October 2022. Clients […]
Archive | Blog
Covid 19: Re-opening information
Re-opening guidance from the Government and Acupuncture Professional Associations Root and Branch Acupuncture will be expanding its re-opening hours from Monday June 29th to include full days on Mondays and Fridays, and Saturday mornings. Working practices will continue to adhere to advice from Government (Return to Work Safely Protocol: Covid-19 Specific National Protocol for Employers […]
Health and health care in Guatemala: a volunteer’s experience
In August 2018 I spent a week volunteering with a project in Guatemala called the Integrative Health Project. It was established by two American practitioners of Chinese Medicine in 2012 to bring care to under-served communities principally in Guatemala and the Caribbean. Specifically, it integrates Traditional East Asian medicine, Mayan medicine and conventional biomedical diagnosis and treatment. […]
Treating Insomnia with Acupuncture
Introduction Being unable to sleep can be extremely frustrating. Once in a while it happens to most of people, and usually there is an obvious reason: Coffee after 6pm, reading something on a smart phone before switching off the bedside light, exercising too late in the evening etc. But if you’ve drunk your camomile […]
Treating Depression and Anxiety with Acupuncture
Introduction Depression and anxiety are common mental health issues, occurring in approximately 1 in 10 and 1 in 9 people respectively, in Ireland. Drugs are routinely prescribed for such illnesses so it’s reasonable to wonder how the ancient Chinese medical practice of acupuncture – the insertion of needles into specific places on the body – can bring […]
Sinusitis season is on the way
As many Irish people will tell you, sinusitis (nasal congestion, difficulty breathing through the nose and pronounced pain/tenderness around the cheeks, forehead and top of the head) is the bane of their lives during the autumn and winter and they don’t necessarily have a cold or the flu to start it off – they just find themselves having […]

Why Yoga is good for you: the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective
Chances are, if you’re reading this post, you practice Yoga and know it makes you feel good, but do you know why? Firstly, a little history and background: Yoga originated in India about 2,500 years ago. At around about the same time, and probably even earlier, China was developing a system of health care (now […]
Acupuncture Training Course – coming to Navan!
Exciting news! One of the leading teachers of Applied Channel Theory in the West is coming to Navan to give a three day lecture to practitioners of Acupuncture from all over Europe. My colleague, Cyrille Bonnard of Equilibre Acupuncture who kindly covers for me while on annual leave, has invited Jason D Robertson to teach an […]
The Problem with Painkillers
The Problem with Painkillers The most commonly used over-the-counter medicines for conditions like back pain, neck and shoulder pain, headaches and period pains, to name a few, include paracetamol and ibuprofen (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories). When these fail to adequately control pain people go to their doctors and may be prescribed stronger NSAIDs, Triptans, Opioids, steroids or […]
Alcohol – the good and the bad news
Last Friday’s Irish Times (24 March 2017) contained no fewer than three articles about alcohol: a surge in teenage alcohol related admissions to hospitals was reported in 2016; moderate alcohol consumption may cut our risk of heart disease; and, why alcohol may be affecting our sleep, health and fitness. These types of report are not […]