Mary O’Hara is a singer from County Sligo, Ireland. She was born in 1935 and had her first successes in the late 50s, playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She married, and moved to the US in 1956 and then her husband died fifteen months later. O’Hara joined the Benedictine order in 1962, living as a nun for twelve years.
When she returned to the world in 1974, she found that her music was still popular, allowing her a jumpstart on her career. She was popular, but also a bit reluctant to accept all of that. She married again in 1985 and left for Tanzania, where her husband was teaching. In 2007 a musical was made about her eventful life, entertaining audiences in Australia. O’Hara now resides on the Aran Islands along the Irish west coast.