Work

The SPACE Programme

Artist Resident · The Performance Corporation · Paris & Ireland

Selected as part of the 2023 cohort of Ireland's longest-running international multidisciplinary artists residency — an intensive creative programme exploring the intersection of arts and technology. Included a residency week at the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, working across disciplines with artists from Ireland and internationally.

Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris · The Performance Corporation · 2023

Triptych

Writer & Performer · Reckless Yes · Produced with Michael John McCarthy

An intimate sonic portrait created in the summer of the first lockdown. Written, performed, and recorded by Catherine Ireton. Three tracks: Lockdown Loaf, Black Crow, What's in store. Funded by Sound and Music's Interpreting Isolation grant, 2020.

Released 2 September 2022 · Reckless Yes

Invisibility Disguise

Writer & Performer

A solo track released August 2021. 4 minutes 23 seconds.

Released August 19, 2021

AA — Ambient Abstractions

Writer & Performer

A solo ambient track released August 2021. 4 minutes 23 seconds.

Released August 19, 2021

Here There 여기 거기

Devised performance / Residency · with Jinyeob Lee

A month-long residency in Seoul with Korean site-specific theatremaker Jinyeob Lee (Elephant Laugh). Rooted in cultural exchange between the UK and Korea, exploring the lives of women across borders — pregnancy, motherhood, language, and daily life. Presented at Duri Theatre, Seoul.

Duri Theatre, Seoul · Produced by Farnham Maltings · Arts Council England & Korea

For All the Fires Not Yet Lit

Writer & Performer · Directed by Joanna Bowen

A 50-minute solo performance — the story of Claire, a woman expected not to make the wedding speech. A sung story about everyday bravery: protest, friendship, and the quiet courage we summon when we're constantly told to be fearful. Music co-written with Ed Briggs.

World premiere: Belltable, Limerick, Sep 2017 · AMATA Falmouth · toured Ireland & UK

The Shape of a Walk

Writing / Walking project

A walking blog documenting a series of walks across Clare and the West of Ireland — from Miltown Malbay to Spanish Point, the Green Road, Lough Avalla, and beyond. Written at the moment of walking, the entries are records of landscape, movement, and thought.

Clare & West of Ireland

In Good Hands

Writer & Performer · with Grace Kiely

A site-specific musical performed inside working hair salons — inspired by the particular intimacy of the hairdresser's chair: the confessions, the stories, the trust. Co-written and co-performed with actor/singer Grace Kiely.

Cork Midsummer Festival · Westport Arts Festival · Glór, Ennis · China (incl. Macau)

Leaving Home Party

Writer & Performer · Farnham Maltings / Harlow Playhouse

A one-woman musical about leaving Ireland and finding belonging — 50 minutes of story set to song, with Ignacio Agrimbau accompanying on instruments. World premiere Edinburgh Fringe 2014 (Summerhall, Red Lecture Theatre). Toured UK; performed in Seoul and at Brighton Fringe. Won the Brighton Fringe Latest Music Award 2016.

Edinburgh · UK tour · Culture Station Seoul 284, 28 Oct 2015 · Brighton Fringe 2016

Where the Light Falls

Devised performance · with Sohyun Bae

A site-specific promenade performance set inside the former Seoul Railway Station — a month-long collaboration with Korean playwright and actress Sohyun Bae. Small audiences were led through the building on a journey of songs, soundscapes, and stories, celebrating acts of quiet heroism in waiting rooms, on platforms, and in transit.

Culture Station Seoul 284 · Commissioned by Culture Station Seoul 284, supported by Caravan

Everything is Done by Ordinary People

Commissioned Artist

Commissioned to create an artistic response to the Museum of Classical Archaeology in Cambridge. Three songs designed for headphone listening in public spaces — an audio reflective journey through the plaster cast collection.

Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge

Pieces of Me

Compilation

Five songs spanning ten years — solo tracks alongside recordings with Go-Away Birds, God Help the Girl, and Elephant. Tracks: Fallback · Green Jackets · The Psychiatrist Is In · Pieces of You · Goodnight.

Discogs

What is it about that night?

Writer & Performer · Caravan International

A secret one-woman musical performed in the backstage spaces of working theatres — dressing rooms, corridors, and the hidden machinery of the stage itself. Audiences were led through the building on an intimate journey of song and story. Toured UK and Hong Kong.

Theatre Royal Brighton · Theatre Royal Margate · The Hexagon Reading · Harlow Playhouse · Kings Theatre Southsea · Tai Po Civic Centre Hong Kong

In Praise of Elephants

Performer & Songwriter · Directed by Gavin Stride · Farnham Maltings

A touring theatre show visiting village halls across England and Scotland — a curated event designed around shared experience and emotional connection, featuring a central autistic character. Catherine wrote the songs and performed in the show alongside Mick Stroble, Nell Ranney, and Simon McCorry.

Village halls — England & Scotland · 2013 premiere tour · 2014 UK tour

TreasureTracks

Performer / Creator

Four intimate secret gigs held in hidden Brighton venues — the Booth Museum, London Road Railway Station, inside the Corn Exchange, and a bedroom. Audiences followed clues to discover each venue; each received a free concert and a song as their "treasure."

Various venues, Brighton, UK · Bandcamp ↗

God Help the Girl

Vocalist — album & film

Stuart Murdoch (Belle and Sebastian) musical project. Catherine performed on 10 of the 14 songs on the album and appeared in the 2014 feature film alongside Emily Browning, Olly Alexander, and Hannah Murray.

Album: Rough Trade / Matador Records, 2009 · Film directed by Stuart Murdoch, 2014

Go-Away Birds

Vocalist — acoustic folk duo with Michael John McCarthy

Self-recorded and self-released seasonal EPs made in Glasgow. Releases: Bells (2009), Sundays EP (2009), Pieces of Me (2014), Keway (2015).

Glasgow · Spotify · Discogs

Elephant

Vocalist — acoustic pop-jazz band

Six-piece acoustic pop-jazz band based in Cork, Ireland, featuring Catherine Ireton (vocals) and Michael John McCarthy (songwriter/guitarist). Released the album In the Moon in 2004. Active October 2002 – July 2005.

Cork, Ireland · Spotify · Discogs

Glóir sa Bhaile

Performer / Presenter

Presented by Glóir Ennis.

Glóir, Ennis, Clare

Eight Years

Musical ice sculpture · with J. Luis Berna Moya (Bubaki)

A collaborative installation work — musical ice sculpture created with J. Luis Berna Moya.