‘An amazing father and beautiful man’: Funeral of Dónal Lunny filled with music and poetry
The funeral of renowned Irish musician Dónal Lunny was marked by music, poetry, and tributes from family and fellow artists. The service celebrated his life, his contributions to traditional music, and his personal legacy.
Why it matters
It honors the life of a significant cultural figure in Irish music and provides a public space for mourning and reflection.
Though his beloved bouzouki and bodhrán sat front row at his funeral, Dónal Lunny didn’t even need instruments to make music.
“He would echo the call of the curlew perfectly so you couldn’t tell if it was him or the curlew,” said his daughter, Cora Venus Lunny.
It was of the precious memories she, her siblings and Lunny’s wife, Una O’Boyle, shared with mourners gathered on Saturday to say farewell to the renowned musician and composer.
He was an amazing father and a beautiful man, she said, recalling the simple pleasures of life with him and their blended family.
“Silly afternoons with our lovely brother Shane who should be here with us now,” she said, remembering the youngest of the four siblings, son of Lunny and the late Sinéad O’Connor , who died tragically four years ago aged just 17.
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