Irish singer-songwriter Kate O’Callaghan shares a familial story with her latest album, Small Behaviours. Read more here;

A follow-up to her album The Girl with the Beret (2016), the recently released 16-track recording is part of a larger project titled Songs from a Witness Statement, recalling an important time in Irish history.

“It draws from the personal stories of my great-grandaunt’s witness statement to the Irish government’s Bureau of Military History,” explains O’Callaghan via email from her home in County Donegal. “It explores her experiences following the Rising in Dublin, including gunrunning from Scotland, encounters with British Army troops heading off to war, prison breaks, ambushes, and the burning of love letters in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday.”

Born in Dublin, O’Callaghan admits she was a late bloomer to the world of music, picking up her first instrument as an adult after moving with her husband to his hometown of Donegal.

“My husband, Seamus, who is a musician (drummer and violinist), bought me my first acoustic guitar as a birthday present. I immediately had an urge to write my own songs. I’m not exactly sure where that came from to be honest, as I had no previous musical background or any idea if I would be any good at it!”

After finishing a long stint at university completing both a science degree and a Ph.D. in Biology, O’Callaghan was happy to trade in her lab coat for a more creative endeavour.

“I do believe that living in Donegal, with its stunning landscapes and wild Atlantic energy has been a great invitation to embrace creativity. You can’t turn a corner here without bumping into a player or singer. There are an extraordinary number of incredible musicians in Donegal. It’s just in the air.”

Over the course of her musical career, O’Callaghan has worked with numerous notable names in Irish music, including the late Ted Ponsonby. She has also recorded and released several albums in addition to the Songs from a Witness Statement project, including her debut EP To You (2010) and her first full-length recording The Still Beyond (2013).

After years of experimenting with different musical styles – including folk, blues, rock, and jazz – the singer/songwriter finally found her voice.

“It took me a while – both my singing and my writing. To be honest, I try not to get too hung up about the labelling. The industry likes to pigeonhole artists for marketability, but it can stifle creativity if it becomes a prerequisite.

“I do tend to explore senses of place and purpose in time,” she continues. “When we are gone, this space is filled with a less tangible and ethereal sense of memory and recollection. I like to examine this space – the marks we make and the shapes we leave behind that imprint from the past, through the present, into the future.”

O’Callaghan muses that, although drawn from her great-grandaunt’s memory, the songs on Small Behaviours have a broader appeal.

“Like many other women involved at that time, constantly negotiating obstacles associated with gender and social expectation, she navigated and exploited the bounded territory between the private female figure and public male space, making the tactics of hiding, concealing and deceit more achievable. The subtle ‘small behaviours’ of these women – their words, ideas, and gestures – not only rebelled against foreign rule but also against the accepted norms for women in society, revealing a social change in process that would ripple through time.”

Since being released, Small Behaviors has enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim.

“The premier performance in Donegal, which received a standing ovation, was held on Ireland’s new bank holiday celebrating St. Brigid, the first national Irish holiday in honour of a woman. I believe it is a real testament to how far we have come, as a society, in recognizing the importance of women’s work and acknowledging the power in telling women’s stories.”

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