Keane turned her attention, once again, to her solo career in 1988. It saw the release of the eponymous "Dolores Keane" album. Her follow-up album "A Lion in a Cage", which hit the shelves in 1989, featured a song written by Faulkner called Lion in a Cage protesting the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela. It served as Keane's second Irish number one and she performed the hit at the celebration of his release. This exposure expanded Keane's reputation and popularity worldwide. A new facet was added to Dolores' career when she played the female lead in the Dublin production of Brendan Behan's "The Hostage", a new translation by Niall Tóibín and Michael Scott, the opening night of which was attended by Mary Robinson, the President of Ireland at the time.