+34Norma Murphy is the co-founder and co-creator of Pendulum Summit, one of Ireland’s best-known leadership and personal development events.
Norma Murphy is the co-founder and co-creator of Pendulum Summit, one of Ireland’s best-known leadership and personal development events. Alongside her husband Frankie Sheahan, Norma Murphy has spent more than a decade building Pendulum into a platform that has welcomed some of the world’s most influential thinkers, leaders and speakers to Ireland.
Her work spans event creation, partnerships, brand development, leadership and the curation of experiences designed to inspire both personal and professional growth.at 3Arena Dublin on September 14, 2026 — Oprah’s first public event in Ireland. Norma is particularly passionate about creating experiences that bring together meaningful conversation, leadership, personal development and human connection. Her own journey as an entrepreneur has been shaped by resilience, relationships, taking risks and continually learning through both success and challenge.
My professional background started with a love of languages and cultures; a postgraduate degree in PR and event management led me to marketing as my core discipline. The creation of Pendulum Summit transitioned me to the production side, where I oversee everything audiences actually experience: the staging, the energy, the moment-to-moment flow of a show.
It happened partly out of necessity, but more importantly, I realised I had a clear vision of what I wanted people to feel sitting in the audience — to take them on a journey of transformation. Later, I studied executive coaching, which, along with the teachings of Pendulum speakers, deepened my understanding of human potential and transformation. I realised the magic happens at the intersection of great ideas and genuine connection —where thought leadership meets the lived experience of change.
That insight became the foundation for Pendulum Summit: a platform where the world’s greatest minds could share their wisdom and inspire the next generation of leaders. Leadership isn’t confined to boardrooms or business cards. A leader can be a parent raising children with intention, a teacher shaping young minds, a coach building a local soccer team, a student stepping up in their school, or an entrepreneur scaling a vision.
Pendulum was built for all of them — to ignite the greatness that already exists in people across every walk of life. Frankie and I were passionate about self-improvement and personal growth long before life circumstances forced us to lean on them for survival — both personally and professionally. We both loved travelling to conferences, carving out time for wellness and investing in our own development. But we were naturally drawn to different voices.
Frankie gravitated toward business and high-performance thinking — especially in sport. I was more interested in holistic wellness, meditation, neuroscience, and psychology. We’d come home from conferences excited about different takeaways, different frameworks, different speakers. That’s when we realised: what if we combined both approaches into one offering?
Pendulum Summit became that synthesis — a 360-degree conference that honours both the practical business side and the deeper inner work of self. But the real catalyst came from observing the outcomes of those early Pendulum Summits. Too many people are so consumed with making a living that they never stop to design their life. They’re reactive, not intentional.
We wanted to create a space that forces that pause, that asks the hard questions: Where are you really? What matters most? What’s actually working? That’s why we developed Pendulum’s six pillars — not as abstract theory, but as a practical map.
They help you evaluate where you stand in each area of your life, identify what needs attention, and chart a path forward. It’s permission to step back and build something intentional. Pendulum Summit was born from a simple yet powerful vision: to create a world-class leadership summit that brings together the wisdom and perspectives of the world’s most inspirational and thought-provoking voices in business and personal development.
We wanted to build a space where leaders could learn, connect, and be challenged to think differently about their impact and purpose. The name itself — Pendulum — reflects a philosophy rooted in the Japanese concept of KAIZEN: change for the better. It’s about swinging between different perspectives, finding balance, and discovering harmony in complexity. That principle isn’t just theoretical for us; it’s lived daily.
As partners in both business and life, raising five children together, we’re constantly navigating different viewpoints and priorities, yet always returning to our shared vision. As a female entrepreneur, what challenges have you overcome that have taught you about leadership, resilience and building a business with purpose? Honestly, I’ve never felt a meaningful distinction between challenges as a female entrepreneur versus a male one.
I know this to be true because my business partner is my husband — we face the same obstacles, the same pressures and the same fears. The challenges are universal across business: vulnerability, putting yourself out there, fear of failure — and especially navigating the uncertainty that comes with creating something from the ground up.
In live events especially, that fear peaks a few weeks before the event — the kind that wakes you up at 3am with racing thoughts and endless to-do lists: What if this goes wrong? What if the audience doesn’t connect? But I’ve learned that “feel the fear and do it anyway” is what carries you through. The real breakthrough comes from how you handle failure.
The biggest learnings aren’t in the successes — they’re in the mistakes. It requires brutal self-awareness to acknowledge when you’ve gotten something wrong, own it fully, and extract the lesson. That willingness to say I got that one wrong, but here’s what I learned doesn’t just build resilience; it humanises you as a leader and gives people permission to be imperfect too.
Of course there were moments of real self-doubt, especially when trying to convince established industry names to take a chance on an unknown production. But these rejections and setbacks became my greatest teachers. They showed me that resilience isn’t about avoiding failure — it’s about how quickly you move past it. They proved that authenticity resonates more powerfully than ego, and that leading with purpose and empathy creates genuine connection.
Every obstacle reinforced my belief in what we were building and deepened my conviction in why it mattered: creating experiences that help people become better versions of themselves. In doing that work, we transform ourselves too. Absolutely critical — in all areas of your life. Family, friends, your team at work, your business network, and of course the loyal attendees who give up their precious time to be there.
The relationships we’ve built over the past decade have been as valuable as any business metric. You need people around you who genuinely have your back, who are happy to see you advance, and who will stand beside you regardless of how the race ends. These are the people who cheer you on — not because you won, but because you had the courage to step into the arena and take the leap.
As Theodore Roosevelt said, it’s about honouring the person who actually dares to try .conversation series. Can you tell us the thought process behind this new series and why you felt Oprah would be the perfect fit to kick it off? — a book my mother and I read together that shifted everything.
It taught us that true connection happens when we release ego, fear, and the need for external validation, and tap into something deeper within ourselves. From that moment, Oprah represented something transformational to me. Now she represents everything Pendulum stands for — authentic leadership, resilience, purpose-driven success, and an unwavering commitment to empowering others. So when we conceived theWe created this series because we wanted something fundamentally different from a traditional keynote.
We wanted intimacy — real dialogue, not a lecture. A space where our audience could sit with a transformational leader and hear not just their success story, but their struggles, their doubts, their breakthroughs. We wanted conversations that feel like genuine human connection. And we wanted to make that accessible to as many people as possible, which is why we’re bringing it to the 3 Arena — creating an intimate experience at scale.
Oprah is the perfect person to launch this because her entire legacy is built on the power of authentic conversation and deep human connection. She’s spent decades proving that vulnerability and real dialogue create transformation. This is the first time she’s coming to Dublin – why do you think she chose Pendulum Summit and why now?.
She recognises that we bring together the very best speakers and thought leaders from around the world — from Stedman Graham to so many other transformational voices — and we create a genuine community that values growth and impact above all else. Our attendees aren’t looking for corporate platitudes; they’re hungry for authentic connection and real insight. Oprah has always sought platforms where she can have genuine conversations with people committed to making a difference.
The timing feels right because there’s a global appetite for leadership rooted in humanity and empathy rather than algorithms and metrics. That’s exactly what Pendulum represents. I can’t wait for her to experience that Irish collective energy firsthand at the 3 Arena on September 14. Oprah’s leadership style has profoundly resonated with me.
What strikes me most is her unwavering commitment to leading with empathy — she’s built an empire not by being the loudest voice in the room, but by truly listening and connecting with people’s deepest needs and aspirations. As a female entrepreneur, you often feel pressured to armour yourself, to lead with strength and distance yourself from emotion. But through Oprah’s life and business successes, I’ve learned the opposite is true: leading with heart alongside strategy is incredibly powerful.
She proves that empathy and business acumen aren’t opposing forces; they’re complementary strengths. What’s remarkable is that Oprah never compromised her values or her humanity to achieve extraordinary success. In many ways, she’s the first organic influencer, someone who built genuine connection and influence not through manipulation or noise, but through authentic care for her audience. That’s the kind of fulfilled life I aspire to.
Oh, this is Oprah Winfrey – I reckon there will be a few layers of impact. On a practical level, I hope people leave with actionable wisdom they can apply immediately to their lives. Two of Oprah’s quotes have become my blueprint of how ‘work works’.
“I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. ” The lesson is simple but transformative: Have the courage to ask for what you want, then work relentlessly for it so that when opportunity arrives, you’re ready to seize it with both hands. But equally important — have a crystal-clear vision of your end goal. If you don’t know where you’re going, you probably won’t get there.
It’s not enough to be prepared or to get lucky; you need both preparation and clarity of purpose, aligned with the courage to pursue it. But beyond the practical, I hope our audience experiences a deeper spiritual awakening. Oprah has a quote that encapsulates everything I believe to be true: “Your happiness is in direct proportion to how far you are from the centre of source — whatever you call source.
” I hope people leave understanding that true leadership and fulfilment come from alignment with purpose, not from ego-led decisions or chasing external validation. In a world obsessed with followers, revenue, and titles, Oprah reminds us that what matters most is gratitude and our connection to something larger than ourselves. I hope people walk away inspired to lead with gratitude and authenticity, and to recognise that their greatest impact comes when they’re aligned with their deepest values and purpose.
That’s the transformation Pendulum and‘If I hadn’t meandered the way I did, I wouldn’t have been suitable for country head’: Melíosa O’Caoimh
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