Barbara Scully spent years unable to find employment after working as a stay-at-home mum. The Dublin-based performer now performs her one-woman show "Because I'm Worth It" to capacity audiences of up to 200 people across Ireland, describing herself as on her "sixth career" as a standup comedian and comic storyteller.
Scully said she experienced menopausal difficulties during her job search. She has not detailed the exact timeline of her career changes but indicates that five years ago she would not have predicted her current path as a performer.
"But once you get to 60, you realise that failure isn't a big deal," Scully told the Guardian. "As long as nobody's going to die, that's grand."
At 64, Scully works as a writer and broadcaster alongside her standup performances. She frames her career shift as part of a broader message to women about ageing.
"I'm on a mission to try to tell women in particular not to fear getting older, to embrace it, to push back against all the bullshit about how you should be fighting ageing," Scully says. She adds that she wants to encourage other women to reject pressure to spend time and money trying to look younger.
"The more women like me who are willing to stand up and say: 'This is me and I am 64 and I'm not really bothered about spending my time and money and energy on trying to look younger,'" she says. "I'm actually spending my time and money and energy doing stuff that makes me happy."
Scully's career path involved multiple transitions before she found her current work in performance. Her show addresses her own experience of employment rejection and has resonated with audiences in Ireland.