Dónal Lunny

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Dónal Lunny (born 10 August 1947) is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the cutting edge of the evolution of Irish music for more than thirty-five years and is generally regarded as having been central to the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period. 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. Their debut album 'The First' was released in 1968. They were a vocal harmony group and reached number one in Ireland with the single "Mary From Dungloe". In 1971 he played on Prosperous, the first album by Christy Moore.

The musicians from Prosperous assembled in 1972 under the name Planxty. The band became a leading proponent of Irish traditional instrumental music for the next ten years. In 1975 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.

[edit] 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 and Baaba Maal. 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.

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. Manus Lunny, also a musician, is Dónal's brother.

Dónal Lunny is producing the album Human Child (2007) by Faroese Eivør Pálsdóttir, which is published in two versions, one English, and one Faroese.

Dónal Lunny is married to Japanese musician Hideko Itami, a member of the musical group Soul Flower Union. The couple now make their home in Okinawa, Japan.

He is the father of violinist, Cora Venus Lunny

[edit] 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.

[edit] Selected Discography

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

Solo

  • "Coolfin", Donal Lunny, 1998

Guest Appearances

  • Mark Knopfler's "Golden Heart", 1996

DVD

  • "The Transatlantic Sessions Series 3", 2007 (various artists)