In 1986, she collaborated with husband Gerry and Belfast flute player Desi Wilkinson[5] in a recording for release on the Gael Linn label.

[6][7] While performing in La Chapelle-Neuve, Côtes-d'Armor, France, Eithne met Gilles le Bigot and approached him to record on her next album with Gerry.

Brighid's Kiss was released under their own Lughnasa Music label that same year, featuring many of the same musicians as their previous album, along with two of their children, Dónal and Siubhán.

[citation needed] Eithne's songs Brighid's Kiss and Tá Sé Ina Lá (inspired by the movement towards a Northern Ireland peace process)[5] were well-received (and went on to be covered by numerous artists.

Before recording their next album, Lá Lugh toured throughout the European continent, including France, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.

[14] In 1998, Lá Lugh released Senex Puer, a new studio album with a number of re-recordings of Eithne's songs from Brighid's Kiss.

[17] Eithne's grieving husband, Gerry O'Connor, could not return to work on the album and focused instead on raising his children and on touring to support the family.

[18] In preparation for its release, tributes were written by Capercaillie's Karen Matheson, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Pauline Scanlon, Mary Black and Eithne's family and friends.

On the release of Bilingua, tributes were sent by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Karen Matheson, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, Pauline Scanlon, Mary Black and Irish artist Declan O'Mahony.