You can take the girl out of Dunboyne, but you can't take Dunboyne out of the girl!

If anyone can say they have had a busy year in 2025, it’s Dunboyne country-pop singer Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, better known as CMAT.

The star's witty lyrics and sparkling personality have captured the hearts of fans all over the country this past year. She’s been dubbed as ‘the artist that will define 2025 by the end of the year’ by Rolling Stone magazine. From sold out arena shows to surprise gigs in her local Dunboyne pub, 2025 truly was the year of CMAT, and her fans are expecting nothing less from 2026.

The singer-songwriter superstar who hails from the small and humble town in Meath has taken the nation by storm with her lyricism, talent and infectious personality, making her fans very proud to be Irish and even prouder to be from the Royal county.

Last year seemed to be just the beginning for the self-titled ‘Dunboyne Diana’, but in the meantime, we can reflect and reminisce on the whirlwind of a year that CMAT has had.

New Album

CMAT announced at the beginning of the year that she would be releasing her third studio album ‘Euro-Country’ in August, leaving fans full of suspense from the release of the singer’s hit single from the album ‘Take a Sexy Picture of Me’ in May.

The song went viral on the video streaming social media app TikTok with fans and other musicians dancing along to the relatable lyrics that reflect on the pressures of womanhood in today’s society. The entire album features nods to growing up in Ireland and some lyrics even name drop significant towns and places to the singer from around the country.

On Substack, announcing the album, CMAT called Ireland “the most toxic boyfriend I’ve ever had, the place which has changed so much that I feel sad every day I can’t return to the version of it that is in my head.”

‘Euro-Country’ went on to be nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize and after an array of festival shows, CMAT set off on tour, with sold out dates across Ireland and UK.

The ‘C-Mural’

How many of us can say that there is a giant mural of our faces painted in our hometown? Well, CMAT can. The fantastic artwork was unveiled by the singer herself in Dunboyne back in August. The mural, which is a painting of the singer from her new album cover with ‘Home of CMAT’ in script beside it, was painted by Dublin-based visual artist Emmalene Blake (ESTR) on the side of Ardu Speciality Coffee in the centre of the town.

The star told the Meath Chronicle on the day that “seeing the mural was insane. It's definitely not a normal feeling, seeing your face painted on a wall in your home town. It's the craziest day of my life.”

The singer spent the best part of an hour greeting fans and children from the local schools, stopping for pictures and enjoying the aptly named ‘C-Matcha’ from Ardu Coffee.

Sold Out Shows

Not only did CMAT sell out her first headline 3Arena show, the star proved that her popularity spreads further than Irish soil with the crowds she garnered at Barcelona’s music and arts festival Primavera and of course the iconic Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

Despite stating that she was terrified to be on her biggest stage yet, the star made the crowd do her iconic ‘Dunboyne, County Meath Two-Step’ with pure delight.

The pop country singer also headlined the popular Irish music festival Altogether Now and was amongst some of the first acts announced for Stradbally’s Electric Picnic Music and Arts festival for 2026.

The Late Late Toy Show

Straight off the back of her sold out headline 3Arena gig, CMAT somehow managed to make it just in time to announce the final number of donations made to the Toy Show Appeal at the end of the annual Late Late Toy Show 2025. Speaking about her 3Arena show, she said: "It was really good, and it was like five minutes ago."

After a heartfelt choir performance by The Virgin Mary Girls National School Choir of the star’s song ‘Stay for Something’, CMAT appeared, greeted by cheers from the audience and tears from super-fans in the choir. In response to the performance, the singer said “my make-up artist has spent a very long time on this make-up, so if I cry, I will get in a lot of trouble, so I can't look at these children because it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard in my life. That was so amazing.”

As if there couldn’t be any more surprises, Dunboyne’s Diana returned to her hometown once again with her band to surprise her local Brady’s pub by playing her entire 3Arena setlist start to finish just a few days after her sold out show.

One delighted fan at the surprise gig said CMAT had originally told the pub owners that she intended to show up with family and maybe play one or two songs.

You can take the girl out of Dunboyne, but you can’t take the Dunboyne out of the girl!

If you want to partake in the Dunboyne Two-Step live and in action, CMAT has announced an array of Irish headline show dates for Summer 2026, including a show in Dublin's St Anne's Park.