Photographer Trevor O’Donoghue, on his touring exhibition: “The Cost of Breathing”, illustrating the different emotions of living with a disease.
Produced for the International Eradication of Poverty Day, Trevor O’Donoghue’s series of self-portraits highlights the unseen expense of having Cystic Fibrosis (CF). His exhibition, which is currently embarking on a national tour throughout Irish libraries, was initially launched at the CFI National Conference 2026 on Saturday 7 February. It has since received a favourable reception among the CF community for its unfiltered realness.
“People feel seen and heard through the art and that’s the idea, to give a voice and to give a face to people who are experiencing these things and feel like they’re experiencing them alone. I’m a healthy person, I live a full life, I have 100 percent lung function – that doesn’t mean I don’t have struggles but I’m in a lucky situation and that’s my motivation to do this stuff; to give a voice to people who aren’t as lucky as me.”
Talking through some behind-the-scenes conversations he had with CF Ireland, Trevor gives insight into what went into making “The Cost of Breathing”:
“When we looked at it, we said poverty isn’t just financial. There’s massive poverty in the motions of having an illness because of the things you miss out on and the obstacles people with illnesses of all sorts deal with. Having an illness costs about ten to thirteen thousand extra a year… so there’s extra pressures on people with illness. CF Ireland are trying to provide all these supports for people and trying to cover the extra costs involved. If a person isn’t able to work, how are they possibly going to afford to be a healthy person?”
The financial battle for people living with cystic fibrosis remains a pressing issue today. Research conducted by CFI in 2025 showed that 44.9% of people with CF struggle to meet their monthly bills. Additionally, 28.1% are unable to work because of the difficulties having CF brings. Despite this, recent breakthroughs in drug therapy such as Trikafta are giving hope to people with cystic fibrosis to increase their life expectancy. Trevor recalls a time in his early years when there wasn’t any optimism for his life expectancy:
“I grew up at a time when there wasn’t much hope. A doctor told me I was going to be dead at 18 basically! I was nine or ten years old and now I’m sitting talking to you at 40 and I’m healthy as a horse.”
Having lost family to the disease at an early age; Trevor describes feeling survivor’s guilt, causing him to run from the CF community. This exhibition has brought him back as he now connects with those with a shared experience to his own. Having described himself as a positive person, Trevor’s bright attitude to life is clearly reflected in the concluding piece of his collection…hope!
“We changed the last picture – which would have been a different, more difficult emotion. It changed to something more hopeful, so you see the hands are grasping- they’re holding on tight and it’s about rising up instead of sinking down. We finished on a hopeful picture because there’s loads of hope out there for people with illnesses of all sorts.”
Today, Trevor remains an avid member of the CF community and currently studies to be a life coach in an effort to help others who may be struggling. He encourages participation in 65 Roses Day; a fundraiser taking place on Friday 10 April, to raise funds and awareness for cystic fibrosis. When asked what advice he’d offer to others diagnosed with an illness, Trevor emphasises separating yourself from your illness in your mind:
“CF is only part of who you are, you’re a lot of other things as well as CF. CF is not who you are – you are a person with CF. Don’t make it your whole identity, you have a lot of other things going on in your life I’m sure, try not to identify as your illness and try to find ways to take your mind off your illness.”
