‘Small Behaviours’ is the 2nd song-cycle, following ‘The Girl with the Beret’, in a series called ‘Songs from A Witness Statement’. A fusion of alternative folk, popular ballad and classical strings, the album was recorded live at the Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal in collaboration with Seamus Devenny and Donegal Camerata String Quintet.
Comprised of a series of songs and spoken word tracks, which flow seamlessly from one into the other, Kate O’Callaghan weaves the story of her great-grand aunt Catherine Rooney (known as Katie Byrne before she got married) and her involvement in the War of Independence, after the events of the Rising in 1916. Inspired by first-hand accounts in her Witness Statement, logged with the Bureau of Military History, the aim of this project was to delve into the more personal and intimate details of her report, to imagine her experiences and pay tribute to the vital roles played by so many women and girls at that time, which ultimately shaped the social position of women today.

“Here are songs that expound on experience, create commonality, telling those big and small stories, simultaneously historical and personal, that are the gift of a music which carries the load of paying attention by sharing the world with us in new and unexpected ways” – Anti-Heroine Chic (New York, USA)
“Haunting melody…beautiful lyrics, made all the more so knowing the story is real…a powerful collection, tinged with sadness, admiration, and love” – Irish America (USA)
“A beautiful recording, a concept album in the best sense. It combines family memories, historic events and movingly personal
reflections. It is impossible not to love this album” – Fatea (UK)

Available on Bandcamp and all major streaming sites – Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer