IME iRadio Station | Music News | CMAT Mercury Prize nomination

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson—better known by her moniker, CMAT—has always resisted easy categorization. Born in Dublin in 1996 and raised in Dunboyne, County Meath, she’s emerged as one of Ireland’s most distinctive singer-songwriters by embracing the contradictions at the heart of her sound. CMAT’s music, as The Guardian aptly observed, is “mournful yet accessible, emotionally literate and cleverly crafted, but, crucially, with a huge sense of humour.” This ability to blend heartbreak and hilarity—coupled with her refusal to conform—has positioned her as a standout in the alternative and indie music scenes.

Yet it’s her sophomore album, Euro-Country, that has truly captured attention well beyond Irish borders. This week, CMAT sits as the bookmakers’ frontrunner for the Mercury Prize in Newcastle—a recognition she credits, in part, to Beyoncé. The global icon’s genre-bending 2024 album, Cowboy Carter, didn’t just top charts; it shifted the landscape for artists like CMAT, opening doors in a genre that has long been gatekept by tradition. 

Reflecting on Beyoncé’s impact, CMAT notes, “Everyone’s allowed to make it.” She describes her own experience of traveling to America, only to be told her music didn’t fit the country mold—an exclusion rooted in the genre’s historical ties to southern, white, Christian conservatism. “What I’ve dealt with in my career so far is going to America and people not accepting that what I make is country music,” she says, highlighting the personal nature of her artistic struggle. 

For CMAT, challenging these boundaries is both a personal mission and a creative imperative. She’s faced skepticism and outright dismissal from genre purists who see country as the preserve of a particular community—a notion she’s determined to upend, one meticulously crafted song at a time. If the Mercury Prize judges recognize her work, it will mark a victory not just for CMAT, but for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. And as her ever-growing fanbase can attest, that outsider perspective is exactly what gives her music its undeniable appeal. CMAT credits Beyoncé for her Mercury Prize nomination.