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Mary OHartfs DiscographySongs of Erin:The Weaving Song - The Quiet Land of Erin -I wish I had the Shepherd's Lamb-The Bonnie Boy-Aililiu naGamnhna-She Moved Through the Fair-The Spanish Lady - Eileen Aroon - The SpinningWheel- DileenoDeamhas- Londonderry A i r -1 havea Bonnet Trimmed with Blue - Castle of Dromore -Next Market Day- My Lagan Love- Ceol a Phiobaire-Fill, Fill a Run O - Ballynure Ballad.

Monday, Tuesday —Songs for Children:The Frog and the Mouse - An Peata Circe - AiliuEanai - 1 Wish I had the Shepherd's Lamb - Fead anlolair-OroMoBhaidin-MyAuntJane-Hi-Didil-Dum- Deirin De - An Maidrin Rua - An Caitin Ban -A Dandling Song - Baidin Fhelimidh - Cogai-o-Gaog -I Have a Bonnet Trimmed with Blue - Dia Luain,Dia Mairt - An Luipreachan - Sweet Child of Glory.

Love Songs of Ireland:Deoindi - My Brown Haired Boy - The StutteringLovers - Ballinderry - Da Bfaighinn Mo Rogha -Beleive Me if all Those Endearing Young Charms -Anonn's Anall - I Know Where I'm Going - TheMinstral Boy - Paddy's Wife - I Know My Love -An Raibh Tu a'g Carraig ? - Loves Young DreamI Will Walk With My Love - Beidh Aonach Amaireach -Gaelic Hymn in praise of the Mother of God.

Songs of Ireland:Haigh Didil Dum - Carraig Donn - The Frog Song -Oro mo Bhaidin - Jackets Green - Seoladh naNgamhna - Wexford Mummers Song - Sliabh namBan - The Gartan Mother's Lullaby - Down by theGlenside - Maidrin Ruadh - Silent O Moyle - Dia LuainDia Mairt- Fain/veil but Whenever-The Lepraughan-Na Leanbhai I Mbeithil - The Famine Song - Shedidn't Dance

Music Speaks LouderThan Words:Music Speaks Louder Than Words - Annie's Song -Cucuin a Chuaichin - Oceans Away - Dust in theWind - The Snail - I'll Have to Say I Love You in aSong - Home in the Meadow - Scorn Not HisSimplicity -Ceol a' Phiobaire - Never My Love - RoisinDubh.

The Scent of the Roses:You Are The New Day - The Prayer of the Badger -The Rainbow Connection - Child of the Woodland -Green Finch and Linnet Bird - The Scent of theRoses - Try to Remember - The Garden Song -Ye Banks and Braes - As I Walked Forth OneSummers Day - Chanson Pour Les Petits Enfants -I Gave My Love a Cherry.

Mary O'Hara Live in New York:Carnegie Hall.Perhaps Love - Uist Cattle Croon - Oaken Ashes -Judas and Mary - In an English Country Garden -The Rose - Face to Face - The Snail - Say That I'llBe Sure to Find You - Tis a Gift t be Simple - Lord ofThe Dance - Greensleeves.

Tranquility:The Floral Dance - Streets of London - And I LoveYouSo-When I'm 64- Barbara Allen-1 Know WhereI'm Going - Shepherd's Song (Bailero) -Believe Meif allThose Endearing Young Charms-ScarboroughFair - What is Life to me Without Thee - Bright Eyes -Where E'er You Walk - Leaving on a Jet Plane -Eriskay Love Lilt - It's Me O Lord - Autumn Leaves -All Through the Night - Where Have All the FlowersGone ? - Drink to me Only With Thine Eyes -Killing Me Softly with His Song.

Mary O'Hara's Ireland:An Crann Ubhall - She Lived Beside the Anner -Cucuin a Chuaichin - Kitty of Coleraine - RoisinDubh - Down by the Sally Gardens - Luibin o Luth -I will Walk with My Love - Seoithin Seo - The Parting -Is ar Eirinn Ni n-Eosfainn Ce hi - The Last Rose ofSummer- Sean Sa Bhriste Leathair-Young BridgetO'Malley - Deus Meus - I Know My Love - SliabhGeal Gua na Feile - Trottin' to the Fair.

Mary O'Hara's Scotland:Willie's Gane Tae Melville Castle - Song of theWaterhorse - Annie Laurie - The Laird of Cockpen -Cro Chinn tsaile - A Shetland Lullaby - An FhideagAirgid - The Elfin Knight - A Shetland Spinning Song -The Bonnie Earl of Moray- larla nam Bratach Bana-Willie's Drowned in Yarrow - Afton Waters -A Hebridean Waulking Song - The Twa Corbies -Lord Randal - Na Hao Ri U - The Wee Cooper of Fife.

A Song for Ireland:My Lagan Love - Kitty of Coleraine - A Soft DayOro Mo Bhaidin - Young Bridget O'Malley - DannyBoy - The Spanish Lady - She Moved Through theFair - The Gartan Mother's Lullaby - The Fairy Tree -Ailiu Eanai - Bring Me a Shawl from Galway - DownBy the Sally Garde-The Song of Glendun-An PeataCirce - The Quiet Land of Erin.

Mary O'Hara at the RoyalFestival Hall:Morning Has Broken - Tapestry - A HebrideanMilking Song - Among Silence - Bring me a Shawlfrom Galway-Bridge Over Troubled Water-Forty-fiveYears - Una Bhan - Scarlet Ribbons - Song for aWinter's Night-When I Need You-Lord of the Dance.

Colours:The Colours of My Life - Blow The Wind Southerly -My Favourite Things - Greensleeves -Mr. Tambourine Man - The Rose - You Needed Me -Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring - Being Green - EnglishCountry Garden-The Last Rose of Summer- In MyLife.

Recital:The Lark in the Clear Air- A Fond Kiss- Oaken Ashes-Pedlar's Song - Una Bhan - Eros - Face to Face -Lord of the Dance - Among Silence - The Prayer ofthe Butterfly - A New Year Carol - Come Lord.

Focus on Mary O'Hara (double)The Weaving Song - The Quiet Land of Erin - TheBonnie Boy - She Moved Through the Fair - TheSpanish Lady - My Lagan Love - A Ballynure Ballad -The Next Market Day - Ceol a'Phiobaire - I Wish IHad the Shepherd's Lamb - Eileen Aroon - MyBrown haired Boy - The Stuttering Lovers - TheMinstral Boy - 1 Have a Bonnet Trimmed With Blue -Ballienderry - Beleive Me If All Those EndearingYoung Charms - Anonn's Anoall - 1 Know Where I'mGoing The Spinning Wheel - Paddy's Wife - I KnowMy Love - I Will Walk With My Love - Love's YoungDream-Gaelic Hymn in praise of the Motherof God.

The Last Rose of Summer:Annie Laurie-The Last Rose of Summer-Cucuin aChuaichin - Trottin to the Fair - Lord Randall -A Shetland Lullaby - Child of the Woodland -Roisin Dubh - My Aunt Jane - The Wee Cooper ofFife - Sean's Bhriste Leathair - The Parting - DeirinDe - Gogai-o-Gaog.

In Harmony:Plaisir D'Amour - Rainy Day People - The Clown -The Sun is Burning - Too Much Magic - PussyWillows Cat Tails - Sliabh Nah mBan - A Friend ofMine -The Wee Cooper of Fife - Mon Pays - TheSpinning Wheel.

Mary OHaniIN CONCERT

Musical Director Mathew Freeman.

MaryOHmMary O'Hara has been described as "mesmerising" . . . and as "a singer without peer".

Yet, perhaps, the late Joyce Grenfell summed it all up when appearing on Marys own This IsYour Life': "Mary's God-given gift was her voice, and what is surely meant for her, is to sing to asmany people as possible."

In a career that has taken her round the world and back on many occasions, entertaining inher own inimitably charming style, Mary O'Hara has done just that... bringing great pleasure anddelight to many millions of people. And winning outstanding acclaim and accolades from Press andPublic alike.

She was born in Sligo on the west coast of Ireland, the youngest of four children - three girlsand a boy. Her father was a civil engineer who travelled the world; her mother was a teacher.

The young Mary loved singing, particularly traditional Irish songs. And at the age of eight,while attending the local Ursuline convent, she won two first prizes for singing and recitation at theSligo Feis Ceoil, the annual festivals of music and drama held in Ireland. They were the first of manyawards that were to come her way throughout a distinguished musical career.

When she was twelve, Mary left Sligo for boarding school in Dublin, attending Sion Hill. It washere she studied music and singing... and played the piano. She was later games captain at theschool and developed into a useful tennis player.

It was here, too, that it was discovered - almost by accident - that she possessed a talent forplaying the Harp. Mary was actually asked to learn the instrument for a school pageant on theworks of Thomas More in which she was appearing.

"/ was singing in a school play about Thomas More and the harp was added for atmosphere.So that's when it all started," she says.

Mary has a natural ability- and her playing complemented perfectly the pureness of her voice.

At the age of sixteen, in her final year at school, Mary made her first broadcast on RadioEireann. When she was seventeen, her teacher took her to England to publicise an Irish touristfestival. The same year, she was chosen to represent Ireland in the Celtic Congress in Scotland.

Back home in I reland, she worked regularly on radio, broadcasting live' programmes of Gaelicsongs, and she often worked as soloist with the Radio Eireann Light Orchestra. Her reputation asan artiste grew with every appearance.

I n the summer of 1955, Mary O'Hara sang at the Edinburgh Festival with the Dublin UniversityPlayers and she was so well received by the critics that she was acclaimed as a bright new star witha brilliant talent. One newspaper commented: "The outstanding performance this year was by MaryO'Hara".

Her performances in Edinburgh resulted in an invitation to appear on television, a string ofengagements, and her first recording contract with Decca Records. Mary O'Hara was on her way tostardom: Compton McKenzie wrote the female character for her in 'Rockets Galore' while Punchfeatured a Ronald Searle cartoon of her. And, at the age of 20, following several televisionappearances, the BBC gave Mary her own Saturday evening TV series. Not long afterwards, shewas given her own children's television show.

In 1956, she returned to the Edinburgh Festival - now an established artiste in her own right -and was featured in the production, 'Pleasure Of Scotland'. The same year, she met and married ayoung American poet, Richard Selig, then a Rhodes scholar at Oxford... and went to live in the USA.

Already a major star in Britain and Ireland, Mary O'Hara soon established her reputation as asinger and musician across the Atlantic. Her first concert recital in America was at the PhillipsGallery in New York, after which Paul Hume writing in the Washington Post claimed that f'sheraisedto a new level the art of folksinging".

However, as her professional career moved from one success to another, and as she becameknown throughout the world... tragedy struck! After just fifteen months of marriage, Richard Seligdied of Hodgkins Disease. It was a bitter blow. Yet, quietly coping with her grief, Mary O'Haracontinued her work

For the next four years, she gave concerts and recitals and appeared on television. A highlysuccessful tour of Australia and New Zealand was followed by appearances in Britain, Ireland,Scandinavia and Holland. And she also completed a successful series for Australian Television.With each performance, came even more critical acclaim.

"But it was all empty for me since Richard was not there to share it," she says.

The more success she achieved, the more persistently she felt the call to the contemplativelife.

"At the time of Richard's death, I decided to enter a monastery. I felt a deep-seated desire,"adds Mary.

In 1962, Mary O'Hara abandoned her musical career and joined a Benedictine Monastery atStambrook in Worcestershire. She became Sister Miriam and was soon absorbed in a life of study,prayer and work

"/ was in the monastery about a year before most of my closest friends even knew," she says."And I was ten years in the monastery before I allowed any of my records to be played there."

Indeed, it was also ten years before she played the harp again. It remained in the monasteryattic, untouched, until persuaded by the Abbess, Mary would on occasions play and sing to theother nuns.

Mary O'Hara spent 121/2 years in the strict confines of the monastery, before a serious declinein the physical state of her health made her aware that she should leave the Order... which she didwith the blessing of her superiors.

Mary reluctantly picked up the threads of her former career. She was pleasantly surprisedthat she had lost neither her voice, nor her appeal. Her audiences had remained faithful to herwhileshe was away.

She made her first public appearance after years of seclusion, at the Salisbury Arts Festival,and before long, Mary was undertaking engagements all over Britain and Ireland once more.

"It was still a bit of an ordeal singing for a live audience," she admits.

In November 1977, after numerous recitals, Mary's major comeback concert took place atLondon's Royal Festival Hall, where she demonstrated to the capacity audience that she hadsuccessfully renewed her career. She sang for the first time with accompanying musicians, and herrepertoire included contemporary songs as well as some of her own compositions and traditionalmaterial. The resulting live' album of that concert earned her a Silver Disc.

Mary O'Hara was back Yet, it was as if she had never really been away.

Next followed extensive appearances on British television, including her own TV specials;further best selling albums; tours of Ireland and Britain; sell-out concerts at London's Royal AlbertHall and New York's Carnegie Hall; and a season at the London Palladium. I n 1978, she was invitedto appear in the Royal Variety Show, and in the same year, Mary was featured as the subject ontelevision's This Is Your Life'.

Two year, later her autobiography - The Scent Of The Roses' - was commissioned andpublished by Michael Joseph, followed by her second book, 'A Song For Ireland'. Both booksbecame best-sellers in Britain, Ireland, Australia and Canada Mary has recently completed a thirdbook which will be published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1985.

Since renewing her career in 1975, Mary O'Hara has re-established herself in no uncertainterms as one of the most delightful performers . . . and acclaimed the world over. She hasundertaken major tours of Britain and Ireland; Australia and New Zealand; and Canada andAmerica - where in 1983, she recorded her 17th album, 'Live at Carnegie Hall' - and with eachappearance has come outstanding success at the box-office and critical acclaim from the Press.

And there's much more to come!

SUMMER 1984.

1C couple of years ago when it/ \e clear to me that I

/-i_\t to have a place of mvJL Y.own in England, I alreadyhad a good idea what type of house Iwanted. To start with, it had to be athatched cottage, what I call asophisticated thatched cottage, andwell in the country rather than in avillage. Small enough to be keptclean without the need of staff, yetlarge enough to accommodate myharps, some books, music, recordsand one or two fnends at a time —and be within easy reach of London,and Heathrow airport

Time is always at a premiumwhere I'm concerned, and shoppingaround was far from easy, having tobe done even- now and then be-tween working engagements How-ever, I found it. My ideal cottage. Aseventeenth -century dwelling, origi-nally a worker's cottage which,photographed in mid-winter snowsmakes a charming Christmas card,and in high summer qualifies for achocolate box cover

Garden worshipWhen my little cottage was built in1662, neither Tolkien nor his hob-bits were yet heard of, but themoment I saw a picture of it in theestate agent's office, I knew it was ahobbit house. No trouble naming it:Rivende l l , from The Lord of theRmgs. (I thought it a bit much tocall it Bag End. It stands amongtrees and shrubs on two acres ofland on the edge ot a quiet hamlet.

Something of our personalitiesleaves us mark on our surroundings,or so I believe. We may think weare detached but our dwellings canbecome part of us. Perhaps thatexplains why, at the LSI moment, Ifound it terribly difficult to leave thelittle flint and brick terraced cottagewith us tiled roof and no back door,that had been kindlv lent me by afriend and had become my tempor-ary home since I'd started singingagain. Close friends compelled mefinally to move out. They graduallyspirited away my belongings, andone day they came and took withthem my cooking pots, my bed andmy telephone. I had no choice butto follow them to Rivendell in thecounty of Berkshire

My knowledge ot gardening isvery limited but I'm learning, andit's hard to describe the sheer pleas-ure that the garden here gives me.As soon as I get up in the morning Igo to the bathroom window andspend a good minute just lookingout and rejoicing in the view. Gar-den worship some people would callthat. Maybe. It certainly evokes aprayer of gratitude. As I write, the

MY LITTLE

HOBBITHOME

Mary O'Hara's haven is a cottage, deepin the Berkshire countryside. Surrounded

by her books and her music, she isslowly collecting the furnishings and

delighting in her garden. Here she sharesher life at Rivendell with us

ancient apple tree standing in thecentre of the lawn is at its most mag-ical, laden with golden fruit .

When the weather is warm andsunny I have meals in the garden,under the apple tree I spend quitean amount of time actually workingin the garden: weeding, planting,and occasionally swopping thingsaround in the herbaceous borders.

Surroundings are very importantto me, where I know I can do some-thing about them. One of the firstthings I did was to treat myself to acompletely new kitchen of old pineIt looks out on to the idvliic garden,and to be in this kitchen surroundedby the warm honey-coloured wood,whether eating a meal, washing upor just relaxing is a special delight

I particularly dislike overheadlighting and, bit by bit, table lampsare taking over. I like a large bath-room so I extended the existing oneand laid attractive rush mattingwhich is more in character. As ithappened, when I arrived at Riven-dell mv worldly chattels were mini-mal and anything I've acquired sincehas been carefully chosen. I try toavoid clutter, keeping the furnituresimple and functional

All the furniture is light in colour.most of it old pine. After thekitchen the next room to getfinished was the dining room. Forabout eighteen months I agonisedover curtains for that room and Ithink I've finally got the fabricright I've chosen sage green andcream which blend beautifully withthe old pine table and welsh dresser.

It was a relief to be able to hangsome of my pictures at last, most ofthem etchings and woodcuts, veryoften of animals and country life. Ittook almost two years to find acouch lor the sitting room and sev-eral more months to have it coveredwith material of my choice. The cur-tains there have onlv just gone upThat room is pale blue.

At least I feel satisfied that what isthere so far is what I want andthough I would love to have thewhole house decorated, furnishedand curtained as soon as possible, itmust needs be festtna lenu, hurryingslowly. My life is so full of thingsprofessional clamouring lor attentionthat getting the house in order

unavoidably takes second place, sothe process is a very slow one.

Most days I spend some timepractising the harp indoors, butwhenever the weather is warm,sunny and still I take it outside.During the cooler months I workbefore the large open fireplace in the"middle" room. A log fire may becosy and good for inspiration but it'snot the best for delicate harps. Theygo out of tune with every variationin the temperature, and being strungwith gut this happens more oftenthan with instruments strung withnylon. Harps thrive best in an even,dry, warmish temperature.

I love books. There are some inmost rooms in the house. So far inmy "new" house they remainstacked against the walls or on a fewbnck and plank shelves awaiting myfurther attention. Beautiful hand-made things appeal to me; I preferpottery to china, and a blacksmithfriend is making a bookshelf with awrought-iron frame — when he canget around to it — and when that'sdone I'll son out the books — whenI can get around to it. The sameblacksmith has made some hand-some wrought iron fire-irons for me.Even to hold them in the hand is apleasure. Perhaps something of thecare and love that the craftsman bes-tows on his creation communicatesitself to the user. Isn't that onereason why antique furniture is soattractive and appealing?

Modest tastesBooks are about the only things Ihave that I value. Come to think ofit , there are verv few things in myhouse that would be of much valueto anyone else. I don't go in forexpensive jewels, priceless orna-ments, or silverware.

In my kitchen, a wooden bowland horn spoon get the most use.Yes, I have a modest collection ofrecords but most of them are con-nected in some way with my workand I've never thought it necessaryto invest in a costly hi-fi or in avideo machine.

Some years ago I was given an oldpme desk as a present. I've alwaysmeant to do my wnting sitting atthis desk but so tar I've never gotaround to i t . Invariably I end up

sitting on the floor with my penciland sheets of paper propped up onrny knees. One friend insists thatfunctionally the desk is a disasterbut it looks so lovely. Nowadays mywork requires some sort of filingsystem but my music books andprogramme notes are still stackedaway in the drawers of the old pinedesk and when I want to get atsomething I have to empty thewhole lot out. For some reason,whatever I want always seems to beat the bottom of a drawer. I'm notan untidy person — but nobodywould ever classify me as orderly

Friends come to stayMy little hobbit house is a haven,my escape from the less welcomeaspects of my career. I do most ofmy preparatory work at home andapart from my music I have justwritten two books there and am inthe process of writing another. Ihave held protracted meetings withpublishers and television producersunder the apple tree but, under-standably, I'm very careful aboutwho I invite. This is the place wheremy friends come and stay. I dislikegiving panics as much as I loatheattending them. I get flustered if Ihave to cater for more than fourpeople. My fnends, and I'm blestwith many, take pity and do notexpect to be entertained with partieshere. I do that son of enter tainingon stage and in television studios.When I have the time I ask myneighbours in for a meal, as they askme in return, but these are far fromformal occasions.

Many friends come to stay withme throughout the year. Childrenentertain themselves with croquetand games of table tennis. I have aseldom-indulged passion for tennis.whether on a table or a lawn, and Imight even get round to building atennis court. One day.

One thing I regret about my workis that it limits the time I'd like tospend with my friends and for thatreason I appreciate it when some ofthem can come to rne I like ^andneed1 penods of quiet and takinglong walks, and mv house is ideallysituated for this. I'm blest withexcellent neighbours who look aftcithe house in my absence.

In as much as I have roots any-where at present. Rivendell Cottageis where I live and want to be, andit is to this spot that I hurry backwhen my travels in different parts ofthe world make me long for home

Article reprinted by kind permission of Woman and Home

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The Celtic HarpThe small Celtic harp, sometimes called the Folk Harp, has beenassociated with Ireland for centuries. As a rule, it was played only bymen and was used for accompanying recitations and the telling ofstories by the travelling story tellers. Poets and musicians - and storytellers - enjoyed an honoured place in the old Celtic cultural traditionof Ireland, and they had considerable influence among the ordinarypeople of the island.

The tradition of story telling continued long after Ireland ceased torun its own affairs and, not surprisingly, many stories took on anaura of resistance and hostility towards foreign rule. Successivegovernments who wished to be rid of Celtic culture banned harpers;and state officials had orders to destroy the harps wherever they werefound.

The old harps were all wire-strung and the harper plucked at themwith very long nails. A particular punishment for harpers was toorder their nails cut. Nowadays, most harp strings are made of gut ornylon and are plucked with the finger tips instead of with the nails.Also, unlike in the old days, harp playing is no longer the exclusivepreserve of the men of Ireland, nor is it any longer considered, thankHeaven, a treasonable offence to play the harp. Instead, the harp hasfinally achieved the proper recognition it has long deserved.

Ironically, it was an English monarch who first established thatrespectable symbolic connection between Ireland and the harp.Henry VIII in the 16th century used the harp as a symbol of Ireland,and towards the end of that century his daughter, Elizabeth I, had theharp minted on the coins of Ireland. The custom of representingIreland with the harp design gradually gained acceptance thereafterand in the 17th and 18th centuries many of the Irish armies abroadused the harp as their distinguishing badge. At the turn of the 18thcentury the poet Thomas Moore popularized the harp, perpetuatingit as a symbol of resurgent Irish nationalism.

Today, the harp is the most widely recognized symbol of modernIreland. It appears on all official state documents, as well as on thepresidential flag and on the coins of the country. For the small Celticharp the road has been sometimes rocky, but it has survived all thetrials and tribulations and mellowed quite well.

Wliatthe Critics SayMary O'Hara has long been established as

one of Ireland's finest musicians. She is asinger and harpist of distinction and haselevated the best of the greatest Irish traditionto a level of consummate artistry in herperformances.The Irish Times (Dublin)

City music lovers get feast of concertsEvery opera singer, every lieder singer, everypop star could have learned something vitalfrom Mary O'Hara last night.The Seattle Times. (USA)

Mary O' Hara superb in intimate concert.O'Hara was grace incarnate when she calledinto play her masterful artistry with the harp...The audience sat back, looking both satisfiedand in wonderment at this remarkableperformer. It has been said that simplicity iseasily the hardest thing to achieve. O'Haraseemingly without effort, made it appear thatit was really the only way to go.The Gazette. (Montreal)

Then there's the sweet serenity of herpresence on stage that draws you into themusic. Peace is there, and the rest of theworld is cacaphony. In an odd kind of way, youforget she is singing. O'Hara must take deepbreaths and make efforts to project, but there'sno physical evidence of it, no outside sign.The music just flows, like conversation.The Guardian (Charlottetown)

Magical quality ofMary O' Hara

Mary O' Hara brought a haunting hush toYarmouth's Cinema One on Saturday nightand produced a performance of magicalquality.

There were no histrionics . . . she merelyfaced her audience and sang with warmthrarely witnessed.

Mary O' Hara cast a spell over a sold-outaudience. She demonstrated she was astriking woman of regal stature, a singer withsensitivity amidst wide-ranging dialects and aharpist who ranks as a national treasure .. .The crystal-clear voice and the splendidphrasing made it a night memorable formeaningful lyrics.The Star-Phoenix. (Saskatoon Canada)

Sweetness and light reigned at the CarnegieHall concert Thursday by Irish singer andharpist Mary O' Hara.The New York Times (USA)

Mary O' Hara's radiance was golden; graceincarnate. An angel came to Edmonton lastnight. This lovely folk-singer has incarnategrace. The spirit ,manifested itself throughinspired talent. Her repertoire has panoramicbreadth and depth . . .The Edmonton Sun. (Canada)

Mary O' Hara gives concert of rare beauty.The Leader-Post. (Regina, Canada)

Harpist was exhilerating. Mary O' Haraheld a full house spellbound for two hours,with her pure sweet voice and skilful manip-ulation of the Celtic harp. She gave a perform-ance which many who attended regarded asthe most enjoyable concert they had everattended.Courier Mail. (Brisbane, Australia)

The Scent of the RosesMary O'Hara's own remarkable, true story isthe inspiring account of an unshakeablereligious conviction and a great love story.

"This is a strong but, delicate story, full ofabsorbing interest and a very'good read' indeedone not to be missed. Many will love to readand re-read it — an enriching experience".

(The Methodist Recorder)

"A moving autobiography... she writes with aclean simplicity which is as accomplished asher singing ... Ms. O'Hara has applied her newfound gift to the most intensely movingautobiography for many a year".

(John Paddy Browne The Irish Poet)

A Song for Ireland"The Ireland I try and portray in this book is theIreland of my songs; and like one of my earliestrecord albums, Mary O'Hara's Ireland, the songsform a cross-section of what appeals to me inthe Irish tradition."

from Mary O'Hara's Introduction

"From Ireland's ambassadress of song comesthis new and lovely book of the melodies whichepitomize all that the singer finds to be inextric-ably bound up with the land of her birth... Thereis history here, mingled with folklore, personalrecollection and story telling in a lovely pot-pourri, written bya lady who is as adept with thepen as she is with the lilting cadences of anIrish song."

(Tim Cromer CORK EXAMINER)

"A body blow to the Celtic predjudices of anyBriton . . . The lovely book is another reminderthat in art and song the British Isles are a richmine of treasure . . . "

(Southern Evening Echo U.K.)

Both Books Published by Michael Joseph

Mary's third book, to be published in September 1985, is entitled CELEBRATION OF LOVE. This isa unique collection comprising Mary O'Hara's favourite poems, songs, prayers and prose excerts.Mary provides a personal introduction to the book, and to each section of the collection, which isillustrated with photographs and line drawings.

To be Published by Hodder and Stoughton