Donal Lunny Dies at 79: His Life, Music, Tributes and Funeral
Irish folk musician and producer Dónal Lunny, a founder of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, died in Dublin on October 23, 2026, aged 79. Here is his life and music, the tributes and his funeral arrangements.
- Irish folk musician and producer Dónal Lunny died in Dublin on October 23, 2026, aged 79; his family said he died peacefully after a short stay in St James's Hospital.
- A founder of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, he is credited with bringing the bouzouki into Irish music and worked with Kate Bush, Elvis Costello and Sinéad O'Connor.
- His funeral is at St Conleth's Parish Church, Newbridge, at 11am Irish time on October 31, with fans asked to watch online; President Connolly called him one of Ireland's greatest musical figures.
Dónal Lunny, the Irish folk musician and producer often written as Donal Lunny, died in Dublin on the morning of Friday, October 23, 2026, aged 79. His family announced his death on his Facebook page, and his funeral is set for Saturday, October 31, at 11am Irish time (11:00 GMT, 7am ET) in Newbridge, Co Kildare, with fans asked to watch online.
A founder of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, he is credited with bringing the bouzouki into Irish traditional music, and he played on or produced records for Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, Sinéad O'Connor and many others. This tribute is current as of the morning of October 31, 2026.
What Donal Lunny's family has said
A post on his Facebook page on October 23 said: "We are heartbroken to confirm that our beloved Donal passed away peacefully this morning in Dublin." The post, as quoted by OregonLive, said he died after a short stay in St James's Hospital and thanked people for celebrating his contribution to music and culture. The Irish Times also reported that he died that Friday morning at St James's.
The family's statement did not name a cause. A Press Association report carried by RTÉ News said he died after an illness with cancer, and the Donegal News also reported that he died of cancer. His family's death notice on RIP.ie says he died peacefully with his loving family present.
Funeral arrangements
According to the death notice, the funeral is at St Conleth's Parish Church, Newbridge, at 11am on Saturday, October 31, 2026 (11:00 GMT, 7am ET, 4:30pm IST). Places are limited to family and close friends, so fans and well-wishers are asked to follow the webstream linked from the notice. The family asks for "Irish wild flowers, autumn leaves and stones in lieu of flowers", the Irish Examiner reported. The notice does not say where he will be laid to rest.
He is survived by his wife, Úna; his children Oisín, Cora and Sola; his grandchildren Phoebe, Eva and Sol; and his siblings, including the musician and producer Manus Lunny, the notice says. His son Shane died in 2022, aged 17, and Shane's mother, the singer Sinéad O'Connor, died in 2023, RTÉ reported.
Early life: Tullamore, Newbridge and Christy Moore
He was born in Tullamore, Co Offaly, on March 10, 1947, one of nine children, and the family moved to Newbridge, Co Kildare, when he was five, the Irish Times obituary says. His mother, Mary (née Rogers), came from Ranafast in Co Donegal, a link that Donegal TD Pat the Cope Gallagher recalled in his tribute.
He met Christy Moore at school in 1959, and as teenagers they formed the Rakes of Kildare with his older brother Frank. He started at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin in 1965, but music took over: the folk group Emmet Spiceland took Mary from Dungloe to No 1 in Ireland in the 1960s, TheJournal.ie reports.
Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts
In 1971 the sessions for Christy Moore's album Prosperous, with Andy Irvine and Liam O'Flynn, led to Planxty. Moore said in 2025 that "Dónal was the man that brought it all together", according to RTÉ Culture. Lunny left in 1974, a move Moore called "one of the greatest shocks of my life", and in 1975 he helped form The Bothy Band with Matt Molloy, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Kevin Burke, Paddy Glackin and Paddy Keenan, BBC News reports.
Moving Hearts, with Moore and piper Davy Spillane, set traditional tunes against rock rhythms and split in 1985, The Irish Times says. In 1981 he and Bill Whelan wrote Timedance, Planxty's Eurovision interval piece, which BBC News says Whelan later drew on for what became Riverdance. His later groups included Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD and Usher's Island.
The bouzouki and the producer's chair
Andy Irvine introduced him to the Greek bouzouki, and Lunny later designed his own version, The Irish Times reports. As he put it: "The bouzouki gave a much more open accompaniment to Irish music."
He co-founded Mulligan Records in the 1970s and produced 17 albums for the label. He also produced or worked with Paul Brady, Elvis Costello, the Indigo Girls, Mark Knopfler, Clannad and Van Morrison, according to RTÉ, The Irish Times and Today FM.
Kate Bush and Sinéad O'Connor
In the Irish Examiner, broadcaster Tom Dunne describes Lunny's bouzouki as central to Jig of Life on Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, and notes that he returned for The Sensual World. Bush also appeared on Common Ground, an EMI album Lunny produced with guests including Bono, Elvis Costello and Sinéad O'Connor, and he produced O'Connor's 2002 album Sean-Nós Nua.
For television, he was musical director and producer of the BBC series Bringing It All Back Home in the early 1990s, and he scored the film This Is My Father.
Honours and awards
- Aosdána, 2006: elected in February 2006 as a traditional music composer, as RTÉ reported at the time.
- Trinity College Dublin, 2008: an honorary doctorate in music.
- BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, 2018: a Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Van Morrison in Belfast (Songlines).
- RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, February 2025: a Lifetime Achievement Award at Vicar Street, Dublin, presented by Christy Moore. Lunny called it "the recognition of a lifetime making music", Hot Press reported.
- Trad Music Hall of Fame, January 9, 2026: the first inductee, on The Late Late Show Trad Special (RTÉ).
His final years
He fell seriously ill in March 2024 while the documentary In Time: Dónal Lunny was being filmed, TheJournal.ie reports, but he kept playing. In August 2026 he performed with fiddler Zoë Conway at the Fleadh Cheoil in Belfast, and Hot Press says he also played Electric Picnic that month.
Tributes to Dónal Lunny
President Catherine Connolly said: "Dónal was one of Ireland's greatest musical figures, a wonderfully talented musician and producer." She added that he would be remembered "for his warmth and the strong connection which he had with audiences" in Ireland and beyond.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin called him "a colossus of Irish music, as a performer, songwriter and producer" in a post on X. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said he "helped shape the sound of Irish music for generations".
Speaking on behalf of Aosdána members, Peter Sirr of its Toscaireacht said: "He was one of those exceptional artists we imagine will always be with us and whose music will always live on." Arts Council director Shona McCarthy called him "a trailblazer, inspiring generations of musicians and expertly balancing tradition and reinvention."
- Sharon Shannon: "We have lost a very very dear friend, and the whole world has lost one of its greatest musical legends."
- Mike Scott of The Waterboys: "greatest of all time. What a wonderful musician and person"
- Karen Matheson: "a giant of a musician and a man of huge humility"
The Irish Traditional Music Archive said "Dónal opened new harmonic and rhythmic possibilities in our melody tradition", TheJournal.ie reported, and Hot Press editor Niall Stokes wrote that he "was one of the real, enduring greats of Irish music."
Our take: why his name keeps coming up
Read together, the tributes make one point again and again: a remarkable number of landmark Irish records carry his name, as player, arranger or producer. His friend Philip King told The Irish Times: "We would sonically and rhythmically not be in this place with Irish music without him." Lunny himself said in 2009 that the evolution of Irish music "should be fostered and encouraged", and that openness is the legacy so many musicians describe this week.
How to follow the funeral and pay tribute
- Watch the webstream from St Conleth's Parish Church at 11am Irish time on October 31 (7am ET), using the link in the RIP.ie death notice.
- Sign a book of condolence at the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge or at Kildare County Council's offices, or leave a message on RIP.ie.
- Share music this weekend with the hashtag #donallunnyfleadh, as his family invited people everywhere "(including the moon!)" to do.
Frequently asked questions
When did Donal Lunny die?
Dónal Lunny died on the morning of Friday, October 23, 2026, in Dublin, aged 79. His family announced his death on his Facebook page, saying he died peacefully after a short stay in St James's Hospital.
What did Donal Lunny die of?
His family's statement did not name a cause. A Press Association report carried by RTÉ said he died after an illness with cancer, and the Donegal News also reported that he died of cancer.
When and where is Donal Lunny's funeral?
The family's death notice on RIP.ie says the funeral is at St Conleth's Parish Church, Newbridge, Co Kildare, at 11am on Saturday, October 31, 2026 (11:00 GMT, 7am ET). Places are limited to family and close friends, so fans are asked to watch the webstream linked from the notice. Books of condolence are open at the Riverbank Arts Centre and Kildare County Council's offices in Newbridge.
What bands was Donal Lunny in?
He was a founder of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, and earlier played in the Rakes of Kildare and Emmet Spiceland. His later groups included Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD and Usher's Island.
Did Donal Lunny play with Kate Bush?
Yes. He played bouzouki on Kate Bush's albums Hounds of Love and The Sensual World, as the Irish Examiner's Tom Dunne recalled, and she appeared on Common Ground, an album he produced. He also worked with Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, Sinéad O'Connor and Van Morrison.
Sources
- Renowned Irish musician Dónal Lunny dies aged 79, RTÉ
- Tributes paid to musician Dónal Lunny after his death aged 79, The Irish Times
- Dónal Lunny obituary: Innovative musician who leaves indelible mark on Irish folk and traditional music, The Irish Times
- Tributes paid to pioneering Irish trad musician Dónal Lunny following his death aged 79, TheJournal.ie
- Funeral of musician Dónal Lunny to take place today, RTÉ News (PA)
- Death Notice of Dónal Lunny (Rathgar, Dublin), RIP.ie
- Trad legend Dónal Lunny to be laid to rest on Saturday, Irish Examiner
- Tom Dunne: A little bit of Dónal Lunny magic always draws you in — we will miss him, Irish Examiner
- Dónal Lunny Has Died Aged 79, Today FM
- Dónal Lunny: Legendary Irish musician dies, aged 79, Hot Press
- Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes Pays Tribute To Dónal Lunny, Hot Press
- Celebrated Irish musician Dónal Lunny dies aged 79, BBC News (via Yahoo Entertainment)
- Legendary singer dead after cancer battle: 'Hard to find words to describe the loss', OregonLive (via Yahoo Entertainment)
- Tributes paid to the late Donal Lunny, Donegal News
- Dónal Lunny, Eugene McCabe elected to Aosdána, RTÉ
- 'Always there and always willing': Christy Moore on Dónal Lunny, RTÉ Culture
- In pictures: The life and music of Dónal Lunny, RTÉ
- BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2018, Songlines
How we wrote this
GessyMorgan explainers are built from public reporting and official sources. This post draws on the 18 sources listed above, each linked where we use it. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources before publishing. We did not test products, attend events or interview anyone for this article. Facts are current as of October 31, 2026, and we update the post when they change.
