Dónal Lunny, one of Ireland’s most celebrated musicians, has died at the age of 79.
Dónal Lunny, one of Ireland’s most celebrated musicians, has died at the age of 79.
Lunny, a gifted multi-instrumentalist, was considered central to the revival and growth of Irish traditional music.
Revered by many in traditional music, he had early musical success with the groundbreaking Planxty in 1971, then The Bothy Band, and subsequently Moving Hearts in the mid 1980s.
A member of Aosdána, it was Lunny’s unique understanding of the importance of tradition mixed with innovation that meant his influence on the flourishing of Irish traditional music was unique.
Over the years, Lunny wrote melodies to be played on all pipes and whistles, and arranged harmonic structures and chord patterns for guitar and harmonium.As his fans mourn his passing, he leaves a treasure trove of fascinating recordings behind him both as a uniquely talented musician and a producer.
Early Years
Born in Tullamore in March 1947, Lunny’s family moved to Kildare when he was five years old, and he was raised and educated in Newbridge.
He enjoyed learning music from childhood, and first met a young Christy Moore in 1959 where they quickly recognised a musical connection between them that would last for decades.
After secondary school, a young Lunny had decided to pursue his artistic studies, so in 1965 he headed to Dublin to study at the National College of Art and Design but within a short time, his blossoming musical career started taking up more and more of his time.
He would go on to form some of the most influential musical groups in the Irish music scene.
Bands
Lunny’s earliest music adventures included the Parnell Folk band, before moving onto the Emmet Folk band, which in turn grew into Emmet Spiceland in 1966, affectionately referred to as Ireland’s ‘first boy band’.
It was the first group to break into the pop charts with Irish music.
During his college years, Lunny met fellow musician Andy Irvine and the pair formed a lifelong friendship and musical connection.
It was when he was visiting Irvine’s flat in the 1970s that Lunny first spotted a bouzouki that Irvine had brought home from his European travels.
Lunny recalled that once he picked it up and strummed it, “something happened to me” and from then he championed its sound and inclusion for a new generation of Irish trad players.
A founding member of ‘Planxty’ along with Liam O’Flynn, Christy Moore and Andy Irvine, the quartet recorded three albums in the period 1971-1973.
Lunny’s influence was key to the sound they created, which redefined traditional Irish music.
He also played bouzouki, guitar, keyboards and bódhrans on all ‘Planxty’ recordings.
Lunny’s family includes his brother, Manus Lunny, also a noted musician and producer.
In 1975, Lunny joined the beloved ‘The Bothy Band’ and again, pushed musical frontiers for traditional music with the group which included Matt Molloy, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Kevin Burke, Paddy Glackin and Paddy Keenan.
Dónal Lunny would go on to play with these and many, many of the country’s leading musicians for decades to come.
Producer/Composer
In 1973, Lunny set up the label Mulligan Records where he went on to produce 17 albums and the label published music from a wide range of artists including Boomtown Rats, The Radiators, and Agnes Bernell.
Such was his reputation in the studio that Bono has referred to Lunny as Ireland’s answer to the legendary US producer Quincy Jones.
Dónal Lunny also composed for a wide range of projects including TV dramas and documentaries for RTÉ, BBC and Channel 4.
In 1992, he was musical director and producer of the award-winning and musically significant TV series Bringing It All Back Home. The project also cemented his working relationship with producer Philip King. The duo would go on to work on a range of musical projects together.
Lunny branched into films too and wrote scores for several films including ‘This is My Father’, a major international production starring Aidan Quinn and James Caan.
In more recent years, Lunny had become more involved with contemporary music, producing albums for Kate Bush, Paul Brady, Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, Rod Stewart and Clannad.
He also produced the internationally acclaimed album for EMI, Common Ground, featuring Kate Bush, Sináad O’Connor, Bono and Elvis Costello.
Lunny said in an interview in The Irish Examiner in 2014 that: “I was dedicated to expanding the reach of traditional music. You want to push the boundaries and broaden the treatment of the music in an acceptable way — one that wouldn’t turn people off, that wasn’t alien to the music. It was a matter of finding approaches that worked”.
In February 2025, Lunny was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the RTÉ Radio 1 Irish Folk Awards in the presence of then-president Michael D Higgins in Dublin’s Vicar Street.
In tributes on the night, U2’s Adam Clayton noted that Lunny’s influence was such that “when you go back to listen to Planxty or The Bothy Band, it’s punk rock with traditional instruments.”
Paddy Glackin previously said that Lunny’s unique influence on the sound of Irish traditional music happened because “Dónal tries to understand where the musician is coming from”
Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill said he “always embraced the rich tradition of Irish music.”
As he presented the award to Lunny, his old pal Christy Moore said that “over 65 years, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to play music with my neighbour Dónal”.
As the audience gave him a standing ovation, Dónal Lunny stepped forward to collect the award and address the enthusiastic audience, saying “my whole sort of reason for living was playing music” adding that “I’ve had an amazing run of it, so thank you very much.”
Lunny performed live during the Fleadh Ceoil festival in Belfast 2026.
The documentary biographical film, In Time: Dónal Lunny, made by his friend and producer, Nuala O’Connor was broadcast on RTÉ in August.
Lunny is survived by his family including his children Oisin, Cora Venus, and Sora Chan, as well as his loving partner Una O’Boyle.
His son Shane died in 2022 at the age of 17. Shane’s mother – singer Sinéad O’Connor – died in 2023.