Born in Kilkenny, Carmel Mooney studied at the National College of Art & Design and later University College Dublin where she holds a Diploma in the History of European Painting. Carmel Mooneyhad her first solo exhibition at the Lincoln Gallery, Dublin, in 1983. A lecturer in the History of Painting, she was also Artistic Director at Daon Scoil, An Daingean, from 1981 to 1991.

In 1989 she spent time at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, Co Monaghan, concentrating on strengthening the structure of her painterly work, in particular the role of line. A year later a visit to Lanzarote introduced her to its volcanic landscape, and she subsequently returned many times to work there...