This is a huge loss to Irish music. The brilliant Dónal Lunny, a towering figure in Irish music as both a folk musician and a producer – has died today in Dublin, from cancer, aged 79. He was a total musical legend. He played guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of the bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD, and Usher’s Island, he has been at the forefront of the renaissance of Irish traditional music for over five decades. In 2025 he was the recipient of the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Last year I was delighted to see the beautiful new documentary film about his life and career, ‘In Time’ which has since done the festival circuit. Donal was a musical genius, but a soft-spoken, very modest one at that.
A frequent collaborator of Kate’s down the years, Dónal played on Kate’s songs Night Of The Swallow, And Dream Of Sheep, Jig Of Life, Hello Earth, and The Sensual World. He produced the album ‘Common Ground: Voices Of Modern Irish Music’ for which Kate contributed the magnificent track Mná na hÉireann in 1996.
Kate had nothing but admiration for Dónal when writing about the trip to Ireland in 1984: “…we got to see Ireland in a really fun way. We worked with Liam O’Flynn, a beautiful musician and person, and Dónal Lunny, whose spontaneity and ideas filled us all with awe.”
Here’s Dónal in 2023 talking to Uncut Magazine about recording music for The Ninth Wave with Kate at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin: “Kate didn’t explain any of that concept, I wish it had been clear to me! I was on three songs on that side. Kate asked me to play a whistle at the end of “And Dream Of Sheep” for three hours ’til she got the bent (whistle) note she wanted. I would have been delighted to do it. Kate looked after us for rehearsal and research. Mixing traditional music with harsh electronic sounds on The Ninth Wave shows her general enquiring mind. She used music and musicians like a painter uses paint. She used traditional music with respect and imagination. It was great that she dipped into the world of Irish music to get what she wanted. She achieved something very good…she was unsparing – and delivered!”
I was thrilled to attend the International Literature Festival on May 22nd 2019, in Dublin, which featured a panel discussion hosted by Siobhán Kane on Kate’s work by Dónal and Del Palmer (who flew over especially for the event).
It was great to hear the two reminisce on stage about recording with Kate and the times Del spent in Ireland. The mutual admiration was clear to be seen. Del posted a great selfie of the two of them after the event on his Facebook page:
Sending our sincere condolences to Donal’s family and loved ones.
p.s. I had hoped Dónal would join me on the Kate Bush Fan Podcast at some stage but alas it is now not to be. Myself and Irish musician SJ McArdle have plenty to say about Dónal and his work with Kate on this special episode we recorded in November 2024, on all things Kate & Ireland, and you will hear Dónal talking in recent years about Kate’s work on Mná na hÉireann among other things:
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