Planxty

In tandem with ensembles such as the Bothy Band, Planxty played a pivotal role in launching a fresh chapter for contemporary Celtic music. Although anchored in traditional sources, the group's masterful instrumental prowess and vigorous performance approach drew on modern currents, while their distinctive vocal blends and contrapuntal instrumental lines had never previously appeared in Irish music.

Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny, Liam O'Flynn, and Andy Irvine first assembled as the founding lineup of Planxty to supply instrumental support for the Irish singer/songwriter Christy Moore's 1972 album Prosperous. The recording sessions proved so invigorating that the musicians decided to carry the collaboration forward. Their debut single, "Cliffs of Dooneen," quickly drew worldwide notice, and an equally striking self-titled album—known fondly as the "Black Album"—appeared soon afterward.

Success notwithstanding, Planxty endured repeated lineup shifts. After the band's second album, The Well Below the Valley, Lunny left to join the Bothy Band and was succeeded by Johnny Moynihan, who had earlier performed with Irvine in Sweeney's Men. Moore exited following the third album, Cold Blow and the Rainy Night, in order to return to solo work and was replaced by singer/songwriter Paul Brady. The departures of Moore and Lunny proved crippling, and shortly after issuing their fifth album, The Woman I Loved So Well, Planxty disbanded in 1981.

Plans for Planxty's revival took root in late 1983. Alongside the original members, the reconstituted ensemble included ex-Bothy Band and future Chieftains flute player Matt Molloy together with keyboardist and future Riverdance producer Bill Whelan. Fiddlers James Kelly and Noelle Casey joined for the reunited group's first album, Words & Music. The revived momentum soon faded. By 1983, Lunny and Moore had departed once more to establish the more electric trad-rock outfit Moving Hearts.