Patterson composed sacred and secular cantatas, orchestral works and songs based on Irish themes. She also wrote poetry, essays, short stories as well as professional articles and books on music. She published articles in The Girl’s Own Paper in England and a series of articles on music in the Weekly Irish Times from 1899–1901. She published ten books, including a text on Irish folk music and a biography of Robert Schumann for the Master Musician’s Series. In 1924, she succeeded Carl Hardebeck as a lecturer on Irish music in the Music Department of University College Cork, where she worked until her death in 1934.