Welcome everyone.
My name is Miriam O’Gara-Kilmurry and I am a singer known as The Celtress, an artist, teacher and host of WRITER’S BLOCK with Miriam.
One morning in 1969, my very busy school principal, a nun, just happened to be in her office when she heard this female mezzo soprano, singing ‘Climb Every Mountain’ from the musical, The Sound of Music. The voice was coming from somewhere down the corridor. She put her head around her door but all she could see was a huddled group of six year-old girls. The singing continued and seemed to be coming from the group – but there was no woman to be seen. As she approached, the crowd parted and there was I, all four foot of me, belting out the last of those final perfect notes, effortlessly.
Mother Imelda was a very sassy and savvy nun, not to mention a doer. She ordered my mother to the school and demanded I be put into vocal training. I am to this day indebted to her because I had little difficulty earning my living on stage as a concert, folk, musical theatre and jazz artist. I was also one of Ireland’s famous Bunratty Castle Entertainers, and had a solo career traveling the world until I was 36. At that point, I felt something was missing. Academia called and I became a teacher and was awarded two degrees.
I had been a broadcaster, author, an actor, but I was not listening to my intuition.
Crash!
My whole system crashed in 2005. At forty years of age I found myself at death’s door. My entire body had become allergic to something. It appears to have been a medication I was given in hospital, an antibiotic. What followed was a two year nightmare. I had to return to Ireland and there my healing began. I had been away for 18 years. It was time to come home to heal.
Deep down I knew what had gone wrong. The medication had been the straw that broke the camel’s back but not the ultimate reason for my ill health. I was living backwards. My body was a reflection of my damaging environments. My intuition was screaming at me that it was all wrong for me. I identified that my intuition had consistently warned me that I was in the wrong relationships, with people who didn’t know my history, or have my best interests at heart (despite what they said). It was time to stop talking and planning and start listening and watching.
Yes. Watching.
I quickly realised that the answers and help came when I was thankful and receptive. When I used the talents I was given for good and not just financial gain.
Years of life review followed. I recovered and was now very aware that I had always been an empath. That my Third Act would be intuition lead and that patience was my greatest friend – because the answer to my life’s purpose, for this third phase, would come with patience.
Necessity they say is the mother of invention but I would suggest it’s the mother of ‘reinvention’ too.
The Pandemic hit. The world stopped and so many needed to reinvent themselves. I used the opportunity to reset. To learn those lessons. My Third Act is centred around following my intuition and creating programmes and guidance for others hoping to connect with theirs.
It is a terrific time to be alive, so connect with your talents and even more importantly, listen to that voice that tells you to embrace change.
Don’t be afraid to evolve. If you’d like to get in touch I can be reached at miriamogara@theceltress.com
10/03/2021
Miriam O’Gara
The Celtress
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THE CELTRESS 