James O'Connor (42) was diagnosed with an Aids-related illness in 1991. He has been treated with a number of different medication combinations over the years and is currently well.
"I was diagnosed with an Aids-related illness in 1991. I was 27. At that time, Aids equalled death in my book, in so far as there were no treatments for it - there were just basic AZT, antiretroviral drugs," he says.
"It was a pretty horrendous period because I had felt maybe two or three years before that, that I possibly was HIV positive. I estimate I contracted HIV before I was 21 years of age while I was living in London.
"And in the mid-80s, just around the time I had developed shingles, I remember thinking 'oh my God, I'm going to die'. And I allowed that fear to sort of just absorb my body and I was very fearful. But straight after that, I made up my mind that I was never, ever going to go for a test until I really had to. The reason why I made up my mind never to go for a test is because at that time, there was no hope."
James began suffering blackouts lasting up to an hour and a half. He presented himself at St James's Hospital in Dublin.
"I was taken into James's private unit and was diagnosed with toxoplasmosis, it's an infection of the outer layer of the brain.
"They strongly encouraged me to have a HIV test as well. To see the pain on [ my family's] faces was horrendous. My own pain was really bad, but particularly to see my twin brother's face - here's someone the same age as me and I was letting him know I could be dead within a few years.
"When I told my mother, the colour just went from her cheeks. They [ my family] were very supportive. They were very shocked, but totally non-judgemental. I was in hospital for about four weeks that time. I was given a social worker - someone who was supported without being invasive.
"Then I started talking and I got out of hospital and went down home. My family didn't pamper me - they gave me space. But the negative side was, they didn't really talk about this either and I wanted to talk about it a little bit. The worst part was I didn't have friends - there was nobody I could talk to. I had sort of pulled back from everybody. "
He has since begun working with people living with HIV/Aids at Open Heart House in Dublin.