It was this man of blues, of rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and more importantly soul, coming home to his Irishness with The Chieftains and the music we’d been playing for so many years.

[3] "On Raglan Road" was adapted from a poem by Patrick Kavanagh and is the story of "a man ensnared by a beautiful revenant whom he had mistaken for 'a creature made of clay'.

Irish Heartbeat received positive reviews from most critics, one of whom called it "some of the most haunting, rousing, downright friendly music of the year".

[10] Rolling Stone magazine's David Browne said it has "splendor and intense beauty",[11] while John Wilde from Melody Maker hailed it as "a bloody considerable marvel", having "awakened [Morrison's] roisterous spirit".

[12] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau was more critical and believed that Morrison, suffering a creative block, was "misguided" in his attempt to reconnect with his traditional Irish music roots.