When Máirín Ní Bheacháin stepped onto the TEDx stage for the first time, she wasn’t simply delivering a talk. She was defying every fear, limitation, and obstacle that once stood in her way. As a personal stylist, entrepreneur, and volunteer, her message —rooted in lived experience — is about confidence, resilience, and choosing to live life on your own terms.
Máirín spoke to Disability Matters about the journey that brought her from a busy classroom to diagnosed with the rare disease moyamoya, intensive brain surgery and, eventually, to the founding of her personal styling company, MoStyle.
From Teaching to Total Uncertainty
In her early career, Máirín was a schoolteacher with a background in literature and a deep interest in creativity. Life was full and busy—she had two small children and a home life that revolved around family. But everything began to shift when she started experiencing unexplainable symptoms: migraines, speech issues, tremors, and the gradual loss of feeling on one side of her body.
“I remember wanting to say the word ‘nappy’ but the word ‘banana’ came out,” she recalled. It was one of many signs that something was going very wrong.
Despite visiting countless doctors over five years, Máirín remained without answers. Misdiagnosed and offered medication that had no effect, she eventually decided to take time off. She worked with a psychotherapist who helped her cope emotionally, but the root cause remained elusive. “I started to believe maybe I was just losing it,” she admitted.
Everything changed after a phone call from her doctor, who urged her to go immediately to Beaumont Hospital. There, she was diagnosed with moyamoya—a rare, degenerative brain disease that restricts blood flow to the brain.
“I was delighted to finally have a name for it. But then they told me the only treatment was brain surgery. I didn’t leave the hospital that day.”
Nine Hours of Surgery and a New Reality
The surgery didn’t go as planned. After nine hours in the operating room, Máirín had suffered a stroke. When she woke up, she could no longer speak. “I felt like myself, but I couldn’t tell my family I was still me,” she said. “So all I could do was smile.”
She had to relearn how to speak, read, write, and even recognise basic numbers and letters. “I had been a teacher for 16 years, and I looked at a fashion magazine and it all just looked like pictures. I couldn’t read a word.”
The road to recovery took two and a half years. “I had all the motivation in the world that I needed I had two small kids and my personality has always been to be a bit of a fighter”.
It was slow and sometimes deeply frustrating. But she never stopped trying.
Rebuilding Through Style and Purpose
“I didn’t want to sit on benefits. I felt too young to give up,” Máirín said. Her recovery became more than physical—it was also about rebuilding identity and purpose.
She began volunteering with Dress for Success (now WorkEqual), helping others return to the workforce through style and presentation. That was the first step toward founding her own business, MoStyle.
Today, Máirín works with a wide range of clients—from corporate professionals to stay-at-home parents—guiding them to express confidence through clothing. “It’s not just about fashion,” she explained. “It’s about saying, ‘This is who I am,’ no matter what challenges you face.”
Assistive technology has also become part of her toolkit. Though she is not blind, she uses software for the visually impaired to support her reading and writing. “I felt like a blind person who could see, so I reached out to organisations supporting blind people—and they were amazing.”
The Message She Lives By
Máirín’s story is powerful not only because of what she’s survived, but because of how she chose to respond. “We all have a choice in how we deal with challenges,” she said. “Even with a disability, you can choose every day to live life your way.”
Her message to others still waiting for a diagnosis? Don’t give up. Keep asking questions. Keep listening and seeking. And above all—keep going.
You can learn more about Máirín’s work or watch her TEDx talk by visiting MoStyle.ie.
Disability Matters airs every Thursday at 4PM on Phoenix 92.5FM, with repeats on Monday at 3PM and Tuesday at 7AM & 3PM. Podcast available after each show on Mixcloud and on bcil.ie/radio.