LEGENDARY IRISH TRADITIONAL musician Donal Lunny has died at the age of 79. 

A central figure in folk and traditional music since the 1960s, he was a founding member of a number of bands, including Planxty, Moving Hearts, LAPD and Usher’s Island.

Throughout his career, the multi-instrumentalist also worked with artists such as U2, Kate Bush, Sinéad O’Connor, Elvis Costello and Van Morrison.

In a post on Instagram, the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) said it was “deeply saddened” to hear of his death. 

“As a musician, arranger and producer, Dónal opened new harmonic and rhythmic possibilities in our melody tradition. Through Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts and a lifetime of collaboration, his imagination helped shape the sound of Irish music over more than half a century,” the post said.

ITMA noted that while Lunny was best known for his bouzouki playing, he also played guitar, bodhrán, mandolin, keyboards and synthesizer, as well as singing.

It said his musical life was founded on creativity, friendship and collaboration, adding that his work with the likes of Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Liam O’Flynn and Paddy Glackin “places him at the heart of some of the most important developments in Irish music of the modern era”. 

TradFest said it learned of Lunny’s death with great sadness.

“Few people have shaped Irish music the way Dónal did,” it said in a statement. 

“From Planxty and The Bothy Band to Moving Hearts, and through decades of producing and playing alongside the finest musicians in the country, he changed how the tradition sounded and how far it travelled.”

Born in Tullamore, Co Offaly in 1947, Lunny’s family moved to Newbridge when he was five.

He joined his first band as a teenager, forming the Rakes of Kildare with his older brother Frank and neighbour Christy Moore, whom he remained friends with and collaborated with throughout his life. 

He attended the National College of Art and Design, where he studied graphic design before devoting himself to music. 

Lunny first came to public attention in 1968 as a member of vocal harmony group Emmet Spiceland, when their single Mary from Dungloe went to number one in Ireland.

He co-founded Mulligan Records in 1975 and went on to produce 17 albums for the label.

Last year, he received the lifetime achievement award at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. 

Christy Moore presented him with the award. “I’ve known Dónal Lunny for 66 years,” he said.

“I met him first in 1959 in school, and what I remember most from those years were his lack of homework, that he was more interested in being out on the Liffey trying to tickle trout, or climbing trees to gaze into the wild birds’ nests.”

In Time: Dónal Lunny, a feature-length documentary exploring his life and career, was also released last year. 

A prefatory text appears on the screen at the outset of the documentary stating that in March 2024, during the making of the film, Lunny became seriously ill. 

He performed alongside fiddler Zoë Conway during the Fleadh Ceoil festival in Belfast in August.