CMAT interview: ‘I’m not where I thought I’d be when I was 18. I thought I’d be Ariana Grande or someone like that . . . but I’m much happier where I am now’

For all the playfulness of Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s persona, the underlying theme of her songs is how fragile the balance can be between confidence and vulnerability

CMAT: ‘The reason I write songs and make music is that, even as a kid, I was writing automatically about my feelings and figuring out what they were.’ Picture: Sarah Doyle

It seems wishes can come true, even if Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s wish at the age of 18 was to have at least one Ivor Novello award and maybe a Grammy by the time she was 21. Ambitious, driven and at that time working in the Finglas branch of SuperValu, she says she would mention to anyone who would listen that she was only passing time there “before I became a pop star”.

Submerging herself into ...