Planxty’s return a few years ago came as a genuine surprise to many; and the comeback of what was initially a Planxty-offshoot, Moving Hearts, would this year raise many eyebrows also.

Moving Hearts’ four shows at Vicar Street in February were their first since 1990, but in reality, the band had ceased to exist a few years prior to that.

Renowned Waterford guitarist Declan Sinnott was first to join the ranks, and the Planxty duo had intended keeping Moving Hearts to a three-piece, but before long the likes of Eoghan O’Neill on bass, and uilleann piper par excellence, Davy Spillane, joined the ever expanding line-up.

Moore would leave after 12 months, to be replaced by Limerick’s own singer-songwriter Mick Hanly. The rotating roll of vocalist would see Flo McSweeney replace Hanly, before the band became a fully-fledged instrumental one.

The band’s versatility saw them play at trad, rock and jazz festivals throughout Europe in the 1980s, with three albums released - ‘Moving Hearts’ in 1981, ‘The Dark End Of The Street’ in 1982, and ‘The Storm’ in 1985.

As Dónal Lunny put it, “With my background in traditional music, it felt like the band changed up a few gears when the rhythm section came into the band. We came dangerously close to becoming a fully-fledged rock band, but having Davy and Keith (Donald) battling on Uileann pipes and soprano saxophone kept the goal posts on the move!”

After ‘The Storm’, Moving Heart’s only wholly instrumental record, the band would only play intermittingly up until 1987, before coming back for a final sold-out show at The Point in 1990.