Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at Arks Advertising Agency in Dublin.

They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from poetry performance and musical group Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney, to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.

[2][3] The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats.

Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios, Bray, in Easter 1972).

In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in County Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.

[8] Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful.

The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story.

The night they played the Royal Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Jimi Hendrix.

The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing.

They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience.

[citation needed] Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.

He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig.

Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned.

They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement.

Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.

[19] In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry.

Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.

Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member.

The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.

On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.

Later in 2011, they played the London Feis festival in Finsbury Park (Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June), sharing the bill with many other luminaries like Christy Moore, Van Morrison, and Bob Dylan.

They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.

On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square.