Ireland says a final farewell today to Dónal Lunny, the musician, producer and bouzouki pioneer who helped drag Irish traditional music out of the parlour and onto the world’s stages.
His funeral takes place at 11am at St Conleth’s Parish Church in Newbridge, Co Kildare, the town where he grew up. Lunny died last week aged 79, following a cancer diagnosis.
A family’s simple request
Space inside the church is limited to family and close friends, so relatives have asked fans and well-wishers to follow the service by livestream instead.
In place of flowers, the family’s funeral notice asked for Irish wild flowers, autumn leaves and stones, a fittingly earthy farewell for a man so tied to the land and its music. They have also invited people across the world to play and share music with friends and family this weekend, using the hashtag #donallunnyfleadh, in what is shaping up to be a global session in his honour.
Books of condolence have been opened at the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge and at Kildare County Council’s offices.
From the Rakes of Kildare to Kate Bush
Born in Tullamore, Co Offaly, in March 1947, Lunny moved to Kildare with his family at the age of five. He met his neighbour Christy Moore in 1959, and the pair, with Lunny’s older brother Frank, formed the Rakes of Kildare in the early 1960s. He went on to study at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin.
What followed was one of the most influential careers in Irish music. He was part of Emmet Spiceland in the 1960s before co-founding Planxty in the early 1970s with Moore, Andy Irvine and Liam O’Flynn, a band whose fusion of uilleann pipes, bouzouki, guitar and song reshaped what traditional music could sound like. He then helped found the Bothy Band in 1975 and Moving Hearts, the trad-rock outfit, later on, and played with Coolfin, LAPD and Usher’s Island.
Behind the desk he was just as important. He founded Mulligan Records in 1973 and produced 17 albums on the label, and his production and session work stretched from Paul Brady and Clannad to Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison and U2. He also helped shape Kate Bush’s landmark album Hounds of Love. He was musical director of the acclaimed 1992 television series Bringing It All Back Home and wrote music for film and documentaries.
He was a member of Aosdána and, in 2025, received a lifetime achievement award at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, presented to him by Christy Moore.
Tributes from the Áras to U2
Tributes poured in after his death was announced. President Catherine Connolly described him as one of Ireland’s greatest musical figures, while Taoiseach Micheál Martin called him a colossus of Irish music, according to RTÉ.
Fiddler and accordion star Sharon Shannon said the loss to traditional music was immeasurable, and U2 bassist Adam Clayton recalled that listening to Planxty or the Bothy Band felt like punk rock played on traditional instruments. Christy Moore, his friend for more than six decades, said it had been a pleasure and a privilege to play music with his neighbour.
Lunny is survived by his children Oisín, Cora Venus and Sora Chan, his partner Úna O’Boyle and his brother, the musician and producer Manus Lunny. His son Shane, whose mother was the singer Sinéad O’Connor, died in 2022 aged 17.
What happens next
After today’s funeral service in Newbridge, the focus shifts to the weekend-long musical tribute his family has called for, with sessions expected in homes, pubs and venues in Ireland and abroad. Fans who cannot attend can sign the books of condolence in Newbridge or follow the livestream of the service. Broadcasters are expected to mark his passing with tributes in the days ahead.
Sources
- RTÉ News (PA): Funeral of musician Dónal Lunny to take place in Kildare (31 October 2026)
- TheJournal.ie: Funeral of Irish traditional musician Dónal Lunny to take place (31 October 2026)
- Irish Examiner: Trad legend Dónal Lunny to be laid to rest on Saturday (29 October 2026)
- RTÉ Entertainment: Renowned Irish musician Dónal Lunny dies aged 79 (23 October 2026)
Featured image: Dónal Lunny Bristol 2012 by Maybesometime, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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