His return to Ireland was marked by the album Prosperous, which proved to be a milestone in the rapprochement of Irish music to the popular mainstream. This album benefited from a collaboration of the leading talents of contemporary folk music, musicians such as Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Liam O'Flynn, and this one-off was to lead to the formation of Planxty, a band who were at the leading edge of the revival of Irish traditional music.

In addition to his work with Planxty , Christy continued to explore new ground as a solo artist. During his first period with Planxty he also managed to record his own solo albums, including The Iron Behind the Velvet and Live in Dublin.

After a short-lived Planxty revival in 1978, where they recorded two albums After the Break and The Woman I Loved So Well, they decided to call it a day and pursue their solo careers.

In the eighties Christy again teamed up with Donal Lunny to form Moving Hearts, another ambitious and innovative Irish band which sought to mix jazz into the folk-rock fusion.

Ever the wanderer, Christy was soon breaking out on his own again, and it was in the eighties that he began to establish himself as one of Ireland's leading solo artists with a string of acclaimed albums and high profile tours. In 1997 Christy decided to take a break from the music, in 2000 Christy attemped a few Dublin dates but for medical reasons had to cancel after the first few concerts.

May 2001 saw the release of an all new Christy Moore album 'This Is The Day' recorded in conjunction with old friends Donal Lunny & Declan Sinnott. Later in 2001 Christy recorded a television series for the Irish National TV channel RTE 'Christy Moore Uncovered'. The series included Christy performing with some of Ireland's top acts, and features material from his entire career as well as his current album 'This Is The Day'. In August 2002 Christy released his latest CD 'Live in Vicar Street' which is alraedy topping the Irish charts.