Barry attended Loreto Convent, North Great George's St.,[1] going on to the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) Schools from 1908 to 1909.
She lived and tutored English privately in Quito, Ecuador in the 1920s, before returning to the family home in Rathmines, Dublin in the 1930s.
[2][3] From 1908 to 1952 Barry was frequently exhibited by the RHA, holding a number of individual shows at the Angus Gallery from 1932 onwards.
[1] For these flower paintings, Barry worked in watercolours and oils, often depicting chrysanthemums and rhododendrons, drawing inspiration from the waterlillies in the National Botanic Gardens.
[2] Dermod O'Brien described Barry as "the finest painter of flowers alive" in 1941, having visited an exhibition at the Victor Waddington Galleries, Dublin.