Dónal Lunny, one of the defining figures of modern Irish traditional and folk music, has died at the age of 79. A message on his Facebook page said he passed away peacefully in Dublin on the morning of Friday, October 23, after a short stay in St James’s Hospital. He had been ill with cancer.
Over roughly six decades, Lunny worked as a performer, arranger, composer and producer, and he is widely credited with helping to drive the revival of Irish traditional music and carry it to audiences far beyond Ireland.
Planxty, the Bothy Band and Moving Hearts
Lunny first came to attention in the trio Rakes of Kildare, alongside his brother Frank and his longtime friend Christy Moore. He then became a founding member of three of the most influential groups the genre has produced. With Moore, Andy Irvine and uilleann piper Liam O’Flynn he formed Planxty, which reshaped how traditional songs and tunes could be arranged for a band. The Bothy Band, formed in 1974, left a deep mark on instrumental dance music, and Moving Hearts went on to fuse traditional playing with rock and jazz before splitting in 1985. He also played with Coolfin, among many other projects.
Although he played guitar, bodhrán, mandolin, keyboards and synthesizer, Lunny was best known for the bouzouki. He adopted the instrument after Andy Irvine introduced it, and is credited with making it a central voice in Irish music.
A producer’s ear
Behind the desk, Lunny ran his own label, Mulligan Records, producing 17 albums for it. He served as producer and music director for the soundtrack of the 1990 BBC documentary series Bringing It All Back Home, which traced the spread of Irish music around the world, and he wrote scores for television dramas, documentaries and films. His collaborators over the years included Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, Rod Stewart and Clannad, and Bono once called him Ireland’s answer to Quincy Jones.
His standing was recognized through membership of Aosdána, Ireland’s association of artists, and a lifetime achievement award at the 2025 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards.
Tributes
Ireland’s taoiseach, Micheál Martin, described Lunny as a “colossus of Irish music,” and president Catherine Connolly said he had been central to many of the most important moments in Irish music over the past 60 years, highlighting his partnerships with Christy Moore and Andy Irvine and his role in bringing the bouzouki into the tradition. The Irish Traditional Music Archive said his influence was immense and that he had opened up new harmonic and rhythmic possibilities for the music. Fellow musicians, including accordionist Sharon Shannon, have also paid tribute.
Lunny’s recordings, as player, arranger and producer, run through much of the recorded history of Irish traditional and folk music, and they remain the clearest measure of his legacy.
Source: The Guardian (Press Association), with additional details from BBC News and The Irish Times.
Photo: Dónal Lunny on stage at the Manchester Apollo, April 1999. Christopher Thomond/The Guardian.