His parents were both of Irish Catholic ancestry, his mother, Norah Frances Dempsey, was born in New Zealand and his father, John Joseph O’Shea, was from County Limerick, Ireland.
[2] He also studied at Christchurch Teachers' Training College, and in 1942 served in the New Zealand Army for two years during World War II with the ambulance corps in the Pacific and Italy.
[3] O'Shea was involved with the Tangata Whenua: People of the Land (1974) a six part television documentary series directed by New Zealand's first Māori screen director Barry Barclay.
[5] Part of his legacy was the many people who Pacific Films gave valuable experiences to and went on to have notable careers such as Barry Barclay and Gaylene Preston.
[6] The tearooms at Pacific Films was described as "the venue for debate and argument with O'Shea promoting a lively, stimulating environment where success was measured in ideas, not seniority.