Gunning's rich stylised form of whistle playing and tradition stems from her homeland of Geevagh in South County Sligo.
Gunning was introduced to traditional Irish music as a child when her father, Tom Nangle, would teach her old tunes by lilting or whistling them to her.
[1] In 1969 she sang in her first band, "Carmel and the Chrystals", and played at local dances in Keadue, Geevagh, Boyle and surrounding areas.
[citation needed] Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s Gunning could be frequently found with P. J. Hernon, Mick Shannon, Joe O'Dowd and others at the famous sessions which took place at the Trades Club in Sligo Town.
Gunning's reputation in the wider world was expanded by the release of her first solo recording, The Lakes of Sligo, which features four unaccompanied songs as well as 14 tracks of virtuosic tin whistle playing.
[citation needed] A reviewer of her music noted that "no modern tin whistler can escape comparison to Mary Bergin, and Carmel's playing does indeed remind some of the Dublin-born star.
Among former pupils of the Carmel Gunning School of Music is flute and whistle master Liam Kelly of the group Dervish, Orlaith McAuliffe, London, Olivia McTernan and June McCormack among others.
The Sligo Maid – this book was published by Carmel Gunning in 2019 and consists of 64 of her compositions to mark her 50th year in the music industry.