Keane lived and worked in London for several years with Faulkner, before they moved to Ireland in the early 1980s. They worked on a series of film scores and programmes for the BBC and formed two successful bands, The Reel Union and Kinvara. During this period Keane recorded her first solo album, "There Was a Maid" in 1978. This was followed by two other releases, "Broken Hearted I'll Wander" (1979) and "Farewell to Eirinn" (1980), which gave credit to Faulkner. In the mid-1980s she rejoined De Dannan and recorded the albums "Anthem" and "Ballroom" with them.