Horslips

Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock group from Dublin, active from 1970 to 2019. They compose, arrange and perform songs that often draw on traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels, and they are widely regarded as founding figures in Celtic rock for combining Irish traditional music with rock. Their approach helps influence a range of Irish and international acts.

Formation and activity

The group forms in Dublin in 1970 and goes on an extended hiatus in 1980. It later reforms for two Irish shows at the end of 2009, in Belfast and Dublin, and continues to perform after that.

Members

The line-up includes Jim Lockhart, Eamon Carr, Charles O'Connor, Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.

Jim Lockhart studies classical music at Trinity College Dublin, comes under the influence of Sean Ó Riada, and develops an interest in building an orchestral sound from Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute, and sings on a limited number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.

Eamon Carr, from Kells in County Meath, starts a quarterly literary magazine in Dublin in the late 1960s called The Tara Telephone, which also includes poetry recitals. He is the drummer.

Charles O'Connor, from Middlesbrough in the UK, plays concertina, mandolin and fiddle, later adding electric guitar, and shares lead vocal duties with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.

Barry Devlin, from Ardboe in County Tyrone, trains as a Franciscan priest before studying English at UCD and then working for a graphics company as a screenwriter. He plays bass, shares vocals and acts as the group’s unofficial front man.

Johnny Fean is born in Dublin in 1951 and grows up in Limerick. He plays guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica, plays sessions in Limerick and County Clare as a teenager, and develops a style that moves from rock toward blues. Before joining Horslips, he plays in Sweet Street with Joe O'Donnell and Eugene Wallace, then in the rock and blues band Jeremiah Henry. His influences include Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, and he leaves Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to return to traditional music in Limerick.