Dónal Lunny, the musician and producer whose bouzouki and arrangements helped define the sound of Irish traditional music from the 1970s onward, died in Dublin on October 23, 2026, after a short stay in St James’s Hospital. He had been suffering from cancer. He was 79.
From Newbridge to Planxty
Lunny was born in Tullamore, County Offaly, on March 10, 1947, and moved with his family to Newbridge, County Kildare, when he was five. As a teenager he played in a local group with his brother Frank and a young Christy Moore, and he later studied graphic design at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. In 1968 he had his first taste of success with Emmet Spiceland, whose version of “Mary from Dungloe” reached number one in Ireland.
After playing on Moore’s 1972 album Prosperous with Andy Irvine and the uilleann piper Liam O’Flynn, the four formed Planxty. Lunny’s driving bouzouki, set against Irvine’s mandolin and O’Flynn’s pipes, gave old tunes a new rhythmic energy, and albums such as The Well Below the Valley became touchstones for a generation of players.
The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts
In 1974 he co-founded The Bothy Band, whose fast, tightly arranged sets made it one of the most influential groups of the decade before it split in 1979. In 1981 he joined Christy Moore and the piper Davy Spillane in Moving Hearts, which fused traditional music with rock and jazz. Later projects included Coolfin, the multinational group Mozaik, LAPD and Usher’s Island, and he was still performing this summer, playing Electric Picnic in August 2026 with Zoë Conway and Máirtín O’Connor.
Producer and mentor
Lunny was as important in the studio as on stage. He produced or played on records by Kate Bush, Paul Brady, Elvis Costello, Sinéad O’Connor and Clannad, and was closely involved in founding Mulligan Records, producing many of its early releases. He was a member of Aosdána, and in 2025 Christy Moore presented him with the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Irish Traditional Music Archive said: “As a musician, arranger and producer, Dónal opened new harmonic and rhythmic possibilities in our melody tradition.” He is survived by his partner Una O’Boyle and his children Oisín, Cora Venus and Sora. His son Shane, with Sinéad O’Connor, died in 2022.