Dónal Lunny, legend of Irish music and co-founder of…

Dónal Lunny, legend of Irish music and co-founder of Planxty, dies

27.10.2026 12:19 HotInfo

Irish traditional musician and producer Dónal Lunny has died at the age of 79. According to a post on his Facebook page, he died on Friday morning at Dublin's St James's Hospital following a brief hospitalization, the cause being cancer. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin called him "a colossus of Irish music" – as a performer, composer and producer. The Guardian ↗

Lunny came from Tullamore in County Offaly. He first found fame in the trio Rakes of Kildare with his brother Frank and Christy Moore, later playing in bands such as Planxty, Moving Hearts, The Bothy Band and Coolfin, touring the world. He mastered several instruments, but he became best known for the bouzouki – President Catherine Connolly noted his key role in introducing the instrument into Irish music as well as his long-standing partnerships with Christy Moore and Andy Irvine. On his own label, Mulligan Records, he produced 17 albums, was a member of the Aosdána academy of artists, and in 2025 received a lifetime achievement award at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. The Guardian ↗

Alongside his bands, he also recorded under his own name. In 1998 he released the album Coolfin, featuring dance sets such as Glentown and Slides: Coolfin / Nora Criona, and that same year he composed the music for the film This Is My Father.