Dónal Lunny

Dónal Lunny

Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period. He is the brother of musician and producer Manus Lunny.

Background

Born in Tullamore, then moved to Newbridge, County Kildare, as a teenager he joined a band called Rakes of Kildare, with Christy Moore. Lunny's Emmet Folk Group and Michael and Brian Byrne's Spiceland Folk Group joined forces to form The Emmet Spiceland -- what now would be described as his first "boy band". Their debut album The First was released in 1968. As a vocal harmony group, they had a #1 hit in Ireland with the single "Mary From Dungloe" which had earlier been popularised in Dublin's folk clubs by Donal and his Emmet Folk group confrere Mick Moloney (The third Emmet Folk Group member Brian Bolger remains a 'Syd Barrett'-style mystery, although some internet observations claim he runs a pub in southern France. Others say he still teaches in his native Gorey). In 1971 Donal played on Prosperous, the second album by Christy Moore.

Four of the musicians from Prosperous - Moore, Lunny, Andy Irvine and Liam O'Flynn assembled in 1972 under the name Planxty and first played professionally in public in Slattery's pub in Capel Street, Dublin in January or February of that year. The band became a leading proponent of Irish traditional instrumental music for the next ten years. In 1974 Lunny left them to form The Bothy Band, playing guitar and bouzouki.

They disbanded in 1978. Lunny became a session musician on Davey and Morris, the first album to feature Shaun Davey. Lunny then got together with Christy Moore again in 1981, to form Moving Hearts. Another founding member was the young uilleann piper, Davy Spillane. Moving Hearts reunited for a reunion concert in Dublin in February 2007, and has since performed at several concerts in Ireland and the U.S.A. in 2008 and 2009.

Lunny has participated in other projects since, including a solo album (actually an album of him and many guest musicians playing his music and arrangements) titled "Donal Lunny" (Gael-Linn 1987), a similar group project album titled "Coolfin" (1998), and more recently a project with a multicultural group called Mozaik, featuring Bruce Molsky, Nikola Parov, Rens van der Zalm, and ex-Planxty co-performer Andy Irvine.

Dónal Lunny as producer

When Moving Hearts broke up in 1985, Lunny diversified. He learned keyboards and mandolin and became a producer. He had already in 1975 produced an album A Silk Purse for electric folk band 'Spud' who went on to introduce Paul McGuinness to band management. He played on several Christy Moore albums, and was a producer & session musician on Kate Bush albums. He played bouzouki and bodhrán on Shaun Davey's Granuaille. He played on the soundtrack of the film This Is My Father and the TV program The River of Sound.

He was the producer of Bringing It All Back Home. He produced albums for Paul Brady, Elvis Costello, Rod Stewart, Indigo Girls, Sinéad O'Connor, Clannad, Maurice Lennon, Baaba Maal, and Five Guys Named Moe,. He appeared on compilation albums - Gathering (1981) and Common Ground (1996). He pushed new boundaries with the his band Coolfin (1998) which included uilleann piper John McSherry. He appeared at the 2000 Cambridge Folk Festival, and the album that commemorated it. In 2001 Lunny collaborated with Frank Harte on the album My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte. He is producing the album Human Child (2007) by Faroese Eivør Pálsdóttir, which is published in two versions, one English, and one Faroese

As an arranger he has worked for The Waterboys, Fairground Attraction and Eddi Reader. Journey (2000) is a retrospective album. In 2004 Lunny was part of the reunited Planxty concert tour.

Dónal Lunny is married to Japanese musician Hidebo Itami, a member of the musical group Soul Flower Union. The couple now make their home in Okinawa, Japan. They have a daughter Sora Chan. He has a daughter violinist, Cora Venus Lunny. He has a son, Oisin Lunny by his first wife, Judy. Oisin was a member of Marxman. And he also has a son named Shane born in March 2004. Mother is Sinéad O'Connor.

In addition to his musical activities, Lunny is a highly skilled gold and silversmith, who was trained in the craft at the National College of Art in Dublin, although he only practised the craft for a short time before devoting his energies to music.

He also produced Jimmy MacCarthy's new album titled Hey-Ho Believe, which was released on 12 November 2010.

The Irish bouzouki

Both Dónal Lunny and Andy Irvine have some claim to popularising the bouzouki in the Irish music sphere after its initial introduction by Johnny Moynihan. Lunny ordered a custom-built bouzouki from English luthier, Peter Abnett (who still makes instruments to this day), with a flat back instead of a traditional Greek rounded back. This made it more comfortable to play. In 1981 he went one step further by creating an electric bouzouki, though this failed to catch on.

Select discography

Solo albums

• Coolfin, Donal Lunny – 1998

With Christy Moore

• Prosperous – 1972
• Christy Moore – 1976
• Whatever Tickles Your Fancy – 1976
• Live in Dublin – Christy Moore, Donal Lunny & Jimmy Faulkner – 1978
• AntiNuclear, Christy Moore, tracks: "People Will Die", Barry Moore and "Trip to Cransore", Early Grave Band – 1979
• Ninety Miles from Dublin, The Rights of Man, Repeal the Union – 1980
• H-Block, Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Matt Molloy, Declan Sinnott, a.o. – 1980
• Christy Moore and Friends – Christy Moore e.o. – 1981
• The Time Has Come – 1983
• Ride On – 1984
• The Spirit of Freedom – 1985
• Ordinary Man – 1985
• Unfinished Revolution – 1987
• Christy Moore
• Voyage

With Planxty

• Planxty – 1973
• The Well Below the Valley – 1973
• Cold Blow and the Rainy Night – 1974
• After The Break – 1979/1992
• The Woman I Loved So Well – 1980/1992
• "Timedance" (12" single) – 1981
• Words & Music – 1983

With the Bothy Band

• 1975 – 1975
• Old Hag You Have Killed Me – 1976
• Out of the Wind, Into the Sun – 1977/1985
• Afterhours (Live in Paris) – 1978/1984
• Live in Concert – 1994

With Moving Hearts

• Moving Hearts – 1982
• The Dark End of the Street – 1982
• Live Hearts – 1984
• The Storm – 1985
• Moving Hearts Live in Dublin – 2008

With Mozaik

• Live from the Powerhouse (2004)
• Changing Trains (2007)

With Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill

• Idir an Dá Sholas (1999)

With Soul Flower Union

• Marginal Moon (1999) (Single - Japanese Release)

With Jimmy MacCarthy

• Hey-Ho Believe

Guest Appearances

• Mark Knopfler's "Golden Heart" – 1996
• Sinéad O'Connor's 2002 Irish traditional album Sean-Nós Nua, Hummingbird Records
• Albert Fry's "Tráthnona Beag Areir" – 2008, Gael Linn
• Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh's "Imeall" – 2008, Moon
• Ceol Cheann Dubhrann (Various artists), 2009

DVD

• The Transatlantic Sessions Series 3 (various artists) – 2007
• Moving Hearts Live in Dublin (Moving Hearts) – 2008