Dónal Lunny, Planxty co-founder and bouzouki pioneer, dies aged 79

Dónal Lunny, the Irish traditional musician who co-founded Planxty and helped bring the bouzouki into Irish music, has died aged 79. PA He died on Friday morning at St James’s Hospital in Dublin after battling cancer, his family confirmed in a Facebook post. PA

Born in Tullamore on 10 March 1947, Lunny co-founded Planxty with Christy Moore, Andy Irvine and Liam O’Flynn, and went on to play in The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. Wikipedia He was central to the introduction of the bouzouki into Irish music, an instrument he took up after Irvine brought one home from his travels. PA As a producer and session musician he worked with artists including Paul Brady, Elvis Costello and Sinéad O’Connor, and in 2025 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. Wikipedia

Tributes poured in from across Irish public life. President Catherine Connolly said Lunny was “one of Ireland’s greatest musical figures” and “central to so many of the most influential moments of the last 60 years of Irish music”. PA Taoiseach Micheál Martin called him “a colossus of Irish music, as a performer, songwriter and producer”. PA