This collection documents Irish singer and harpist Mary O'Hara's musical career and early retirement years in Tanzania with her husband Padraig O'Toole through their correspondence with friend and neighbor in England, Jean Heitz. Heitz also collected clippings about O'Hara, and kept ticket stubs, publicity materials, fan club mailings, and photographs relating to her.

O'Hara's correspondence to Heitz in the 1980s and early 1990s was limited to postcards and airmail when O'Hara was on tour. With their move to Tanzania in 1996, O'Hara and O'Toole established regular emails to Heitz via her daughter and son-in-law's email accounts. The bulk of the email is from O'Hara and O'Toole to Heitz, but some of Heitz's messages are captured in the email replies, as well as originals of a few faxes Heitz sent. Two messages from O'Hara's father, John, to Heitz, are included with the earlier correspondence. The collection also includes letters to Heitz from two additional people - an O'Hara relative and a playwright who created a work about O'Hara's life.