[1] She is a member of Aosdána, Ireland's national academy of artists, and examples of her works are held in multiple major collections.
Catherine Byrne was born in Portlaoise, County Laois, in 1952, and grew up on Dublin Road there.
[6] Carman has participated in many group exhibitions, as well as presenting solo shows, in both Ireland and abroad, including:[7] Works by Carman are held in many collections, including those of Ireland's Arts Council[7] and National Self-Portrait Collection, major Irish financial institutions, Dublin, Laois and Sligo local authorities, the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, and the European Parliament.
[14] Carman is a member of Aosdana, Ireland's selective artists' academy, and as of 2023, of that body's co-ordinating committee, the Toscaireacht.
[15] She met writer and priest Michael Harding at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre artists' retreat in 1984, and after a year of so they established a steady relationship, and Harding has noted that Carman introduced him to the Dublin arts world.