Woman Who Struggled to Find Work Reinvents Herself as a Stand-Up Comedian at 60

Barbara Scully has turned a difficult period in her life into an unexpected new career, becoming a stand-up comedian after struggling to find work when she was in her 50s.

The 64-year-old writer and broadcaster from Dublin had already worked in several different fields, including travel, fundraising and teaching, before taking time away from paid employment to raise her children.

When she later tried to return to work, Scully found that her age and the long gap in her CV made finding employment extremely difficult. She has described leaving a social welfare office in tears after being told she was not eligible for financial support.

Instead of giving up, she decided to create work for herself by returning to activities she enjoyed, particularly writing and speaking.

Her unexpected move into comedy began when she was invited to perform a humorous reading from her book at a comedy event. She turned the reading into a short comedy performance, and the positive response encouraged her to develop a full one-woman show.

Scully has since performed across Ireland and now has a new show for 2026. Her work often explores ageing, confidence and the experiences of women later in life.

She says becoming older has brought a different kind of freedom and has allowed her to discover opportunities that she might not have considered earlier in her life.

Her story is an example of how a career can take an unexpected direction after a difficult period. What began as an attempt to find a way back into working life eventually became a completely new chapter on stage.

For Scully, starting again later in life has shown that career changes do not necessarily have to happen when people are young. Sometimes, a new opportunity can appear after a person believes the most important chapters of their working life are already over.

Source: The Guardian, October 5, 2026