De Dannan In 1974 Keane co-founded the
traditional Irish band
De Dannan and the group released their debut album,
Dé Danann, in the same year. De Dannan gained international recognition, and enjoyed major success in the late 1970s in the United States. Keane toured with the band, and their single "The Rambling Irishman" was a big hit in Ireland. In early 1976 Keane left De Dannan and was replaced by
Andy Irvine, who recorded live with the band on 30 April 1976 during the Third Irish Folk Festival in Germany. In 1977 she married multi-instrumentalist John Faulkner, with whom she recorded three albums of folk music. This became Keane's first Irish number-one single and she performed the song at the celebration of Mandela's release. In 1990-91, Keane played the female lead in the Dublin production of
Brendan Behan's
The Hostage, a new translation by
Niall Tóibín and
Michael Scott. The opening night was attended by
Mary Robinson, the President of Ireland. In 1992, Keane was one of many female Irish singers whose music was included in the record-breaking anthology ''
A Woman's Heart''. The album also featured
Eleanor McEvoy,
Mary Black,
Frances Black,
Sharon Shannon and
Maura O'Connell and became the biggest-selling album in
Ireland's history. ''A Woman's Heart Vol. 2
was released in late 1994 and was a high charting album in Ireland. Also in 1994, a solo album entitled Solid Ground'' was released on the Shanachie label (available on
Dara Records) and received critical acclaim in Europe and America. In August 1995, Keane was awarded the prestigious Fiddler's Green Hall of Fame award in
Rostrevor, County Down, for her "significant contribution to the cause of Irish music and culture". In the same year she performed in the
Dublin production of
JM Synge's
Playboy of the Western World. She contributed to the
RTÉ/
BBC television production
Bringing It All Back Home (1991), a series of programmes illustrating the migration of Irish music to America. Keane was shown performing in
Nashville, Tennessee, with musicians such as
Emmylou Harris and
Richard Thompson, and at home in
Galway with her aunts Rita and Sarah. In August 1997, Keane went to number one again in the Irish albums chart with a compilation album of her most loved songs. Another studio album,
Night Owl, was released in 1998, on which she returned to her traditional Irish roots.
Night Owl did well in Europe and America. With a healthy solo career, Keane went on tour with De Dannan again in the late 1990s and played to packed audiences in venues such as
Birmingham, Alabama, and New York City. ==Musical legacy==