“May the turf rest light and green above you Ireland’s sweetest songstress” 

Irish Standard, Minneapolis (1861)

Catherine Hayes Ireland’s first international opera star was born.

Catherine Hayes, married name Catherine Bushnell, was a world-famous Irish soprano of the Victorian era. According to London’s Daily Express, “Hayes was the ‘Madonna’ of her day; she was the 19th-century operatic equivalent of the world’s most famous pop star.”

Associated Links:

• Catherine Hayes | Official Site
• Catherine Hayes | Irish Biography
• Catherine Hayes | Women of Ireland – World Cultures European
• Catherine Hayes | Ireland Reaching Out
• Catherine Hayes | Dictionary of Irish Biography
• Catherine Hayes (Irish Soprano) | University of Edinburgh Archive and Manuscript Collections

Resources for Children:

• Catherine Hayes | Ask about Ireland

Related Articles:

• “Irish Women in History- Catherine Hayes, The Victorian Pop Star” | Historical Mystery Author
• “The Unforgettable Legacy of Soprano Catherine Hayes” | ILoveLimerick.ie
• “The Irish Nightingale” | The Irish Times
• “A Soprano in the House” | The People’s Museum of Limerick
• “PROFILE: Limerick’s All Time Great- Catherine Hayes” | Limerick Leader 
• “Catherine Hayes (1818-61), Soprano, “The Hiberian Prima Donna” | Glasgow’s Cultural History