Ciara, originally from Mitchelstown, is a graduate from the Cork School of Music. She began learning piano at the age of four with her mother, giving her a passion for music from a very early age. At the age of ten she started learning clarinet and saxophone, going on to join the Mitchelstown Brass Band.

Aged sixteen, she began studying clarinet in the Cork School of Music part time, while still continuing to study piano and accompanying her school choir. While still in school, Ciara was accepted to play with the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble, and she completed a DipLCM in clarinet performance. When Ciara finished her leaving cert, she spent four years studying for a BMus degree in the Cork School of Music, while also teaching some of the younger students in the Mitchelstown Brass Band. After graduating in 2017, she took on full time teaching, and joined the Army Band of the First Brigade playing clarinet and saxophone.

In her spare time outside of teaching and army band duties, Ciara enjoys playing saxophone in a number of bands, including The Cork Philharmonic Winds, The Cork City Jazz Ensemble and The Offbeats. She is very passionate about music performance, as well as her role as a teacher inspiring a similar passion for music in her students.