Helen O’Shea ft.Caroline Carlile & The Carlile Family Band releases ‘There Will Be Days’

Limerick-born, New-Jersey based mother, musician and former highly successful career medical doctor (OB/GYN) Helen O’Shea has released star-studded new album ‘Songs in The Key of O’, with focus track ‘There Will Be Days’ featuring Caroline Carlile and The Carlile Family Band.

Produced by two-time GRAMMY award-winning producer Marc Swersky, the album is a homage project to two Irish music icons and O’Shea’s biggest inspirations, Sinéad O’Connor and Dolores O’Riordan (The Cranberries), and features an all-star list of collaborators, including Liam O’Maonlaí (Hothouse Flowers), Barry Murphy (Hermitage Green), Rob Clores (The Black Crowes), Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors), James Maddock, Andrew Carillo (Joan Osborne), Michelle Moore (Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - E Street Choir), Jack Daley (Spin Doctors), Caroline Carlile and The Carlile Family Band, Seth Von Paulus (Linda Perry), Leon Zervos, Nicole Scorsone, Nathan Bishop, Brielle Brown, Fiona Tyndall, Sharon Lasher, Jo Wymer, and Brad Butcher.

"Sinéad O'Connor is an Irish music icon, and an even bigger inspiration to thousands of Irish women. I will never forget the night she walked onto the stage of Ireland's Late Late Show and made her debut, with her signature buzzcut and a plain white t-shirt. Sinéad helped to redefine what it meant to be a woman in Ireland. Strong, bold, fearless and passionate - she was a true inspiration, pushing the boundaries of Irish womanhood and Irish music,” says O’Shea.

“Dolores O'Riordan was a star who burned brightly for a tragically short time. She brought so much beauty to the hometown she shared with me through her singing and her songwriting and she represented Limerick so well all over the world and the world lost her way too soon,” she adds.

O’Shea, a career medical doctor, was in college when she received a mixtape from her brother,, which included the song "Linger," and that stunning voice of Dolores O'Riordan — also a Limerick girl — left a lasting impact on O’Shea.

Helen’s journey from medicine to motherhood to music embodies resilience, reinvention, and the power of learning to heal. Blending Americana and Celtic influences into her signature sound, which she calls AmeriCeltiCana, her music and message resonate deeply with women and mothers rediscovering themselves later in life.

Before entering the music world, Helen dedicated years to a distinguished medical career as an obstetrician/gynecologist. She attended medical school at the University College Galway (UCG) Ireland, where she met her husband, Paul O’Shea, PhD. She then spent a number of years as an Assistant Professor in Medical Research and Medical School Teaching at the prestigious McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she became a leader in perinatal research and medical education. She created Healing in Medicine, a groundbreaking course that taught medical students, residents, and physicians how to handle the complexities of caring for vulnerable patients and their families.

Even as a doctor, Helen’s deepest calling was to be a healer—not just of the body, but of the human spirit. She has been a guiding light for many while quietly navigating her own struggles behind the scenes.

Her return to the US in 2011, where she had lived briefly in the 90s, was rough on her children and coincided with their request that she stop working in medicine and stay home with them after school—an idea which surprised Helen, but which she and her husband fully supported. She explains: “Two days into my new life, without my lifelong identity as Dr. Helen McNamara, I began to settle into life as housewife Helen O'Shea, with great difficulty. It was then that my husband said "You've always wanted to sing - this is your chance.”

Helen rediscovered her life-long passion for music, quickly becoming a dynamic force in the independent music scene, collaborating with two-time Grammy winner Marc Swersky (Joe Cocker, Natalie Cole), winning Best Americana Song for “Sturdy Soul” at the Global Music Awards, and earning nominations for the 2024 Josie Awards and the International Singer-Songwriter Award for Best Duo with Alexander Simone for their collaboration on “Holy Mother”.

With the heart of a healer and the grace of grit, O’Shea is trailblazing a path of hope and possibility, sharing her unguarded story so that others may step fully into their power.

Through her metamorphosis, she holds fiercely to her personal mantra, “Turning Tides Make Sturdy Souls”, reflecting her belief that life’s challenges—both joyful and painful—are what shape us. Embracing transformation takes courage, and through her music, Helen extends a hand, reminding us that we don’t have to take the first step alone.

ALBUM RUNNING ORDER

1. "Caged Birds" - ORIGINAL - Featuring Liam O'Maonlaí - watch video HERE

2. "Rock And Roll Angel" - ORIGINAL - Featuring Barry Murphy - watch video HERE

3. "Chaos" - ORIGINAL - watch video HERE

4. "Dense Water Deeper Down" - COVER (Sinéad O’Connor) - Featuring Brielle Brown, Sharon Lasher, Fiona Tyndall, Jo Wymer - watch video HERE

5. "Dreaming My Dreams" - COVER (Dolores O’Riordan)

6. "If U Ever" - COVER (Sinéad O’Connor) - Featuring James Maddock

7. "Saving Grace" - COVER (Dolores O’Riordan)

8. "Last Day Of Our Acquaintance" - COVER (Sinéad O’Connor) - Featuring Brad Butcher

9. "Lost" - COVER (Dolores O’Riordan)

10. "Unbecoming (KO Version)" - ORIGINAL - Featuring Fiona Tyndall

11. "Shine" - ORIGINAL - Featuring Michelle Moore

12. "There Will Be Days" - ORIGINAL - Featuring Caroline Carlile and The Carlile Family Band