Ms. O' Shea was born and raised in Co. Tipperary, Ireland, where she graduated first in her class at Sacred Heart Presentation Secondary school. She entered University College Dublin, the Alma Mater of James Joyce, where she double majored in English Language and Literature and Irish Language and Literature. She minored in mathematics. Ms. O' Shea won the William Henry Curran Scholarship,  a competitive scholarship awarded by the National Universities of Ireland. She was the recipient of the Irish Language and Literature Scholarship in her second year of college.

Ms. O' Shea emigrated to the United States after college.  Her early years in the U.S. were spent growing up and waitressing. She embarked on her teaching career in 1993. She taught on the Lower East Side and the Upper East Side of Manhattan before relocating to Pennsylvania in June 2000. She substituted in the Abington and Scranton school districts until she began teaching at Riverside in September 2001. She earned a Masters of Science in Secondary Education from Wilkes University and a Program Specialist in English as a Second Language from Kings College. 

Ms. O' Shea taught Marywood's English Methods course in 2004-2005.  In 2006, she was named NEIU 19's Teacher of the Year. Ms. O' Shea feels privileged to belong to the Riverside Community and to touch the lives of the wonderful students here. She has taught here for 21 terrific years.