Patrick Street was an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Andy Irvine (Sweeney's Men, Planxty) on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly (De Dannan) on button accordion, and Arty McGlynn (Van Morrison) on guitar.

Other members were added at various times: Ged Foley (The House Band, Battlefield Band) who held the tenure on guitar for many years, Bill Whelan on keyboards, Declan Masterson on uilleann pipes and keyboards, James Kelly on fiddle, Brendan Hearty on harmonium, John Carty on fiddle, flute and banjo, and Enda Walsh on keyboards.

Dónal Lunny, Whelan, and Walsh joined as producers on some albums.

In 1985, Andy Irvine joined up with fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (who had been gigging together around America for some time) and toured as a trio in the USA; when Ó Domhnaill wasn't available for some of the dates, guitarist/vocalist Gerry O'Beirne stepped in.

"This tour was such fun and so successful that we decided to expand the outfit into a four-piece by adding Jackie Daly", Irvine wrote.

Originally billed on a 1986 American tour as "The Legends of Irish Music", they soon chose to call themselves Patrick Street. The line-up for the band underwent several changes, but always included Burke, Irvine and Daly.

The guitar role, however, passed:

After Daly retired from Patrick Street, John Carty joined on fiddle, flute and tenor banjo in time to record On the Fly.