DÓNAL LUNNY TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT THE RTÉ RADIO 1 FOLK AWARDS 2025

DÓNAL LUNNY TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT THE RTÉ RADIO 1 FOLK AWARDS 2025

Celebrating the very best in folk music in Ireland from the past year 

Awards event LIVE in Vicar Street and on RTÉ Radio 1
Wednesday 26th February, at 8pm

Dónal Lunny will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards which will take place in Vicar Street, Dublin at 8.00pm on Wednesday 26th February. The awards will be presented by John Creedon and will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 and the RTÉ Radio Player.

Dónal Lunny is one of the most significant figures in folk and traditional music ever to come out of Ireland. His influence as a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer has shaped the sound of Irish music for more than half a century.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually by the Executive Steering Committee of the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards to a living artist who has made a significant contribution to Irish folk music over many years. As this year’s recipient, Dónal joins a distinguished list of Lifetime Achievement recipients, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (2024), Mary Black (2022), Christy Moore (2021), Steve Cooney (2020), Moya Brennan (2019) and Andy Irvine (2018).

Head of RTÉ Radio 1 and Member of the 2025 Folk Awards Steering Committee, Peter Woods said: “With the change between The Raggle Taggle Gypsy and Tabhair dom do Lámh on the Prosperous album and the opening chords of the Kesh Jig on the first Bothy Band recording, Dónal Lunny announced and was central to a shift of gear in Irish music. He defined much of the music of a generation at a time when traditional music was not mainstream and was almost subversive.  

“His contribution to that music through Planxty, to Moving Hearts, Mozaik and of course the Bothies and beyond, sits alongside a career as a producer and collaborator across genres and as a true innovator. Dónal has done this without losing sight of the integrity of the music. What he has turned his hand to he has enhanced. 

“It is a real honour for RTÉ Radio 1 to be associated with this award.”

The RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards is also delighted to announce a live performance by his new group, Dónal Lunny’s Darkhorse, at this year’s show as part of the celebrations of his Lifetime Achievement Award.

We will also hear live performances from Damien Dempsey, Róis, Seamas Hyland, Pólca 4, and plus five-time Grammy award winner, Mary Chapin Carpenter, among many others.

Róise Rua, a renowned singer from Árainn Mhór, Dún na nGall, will be inducted into the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Hall of Fame on the night. Georgina Dudgeon, a relative of Róise Rua who has been involved in promoting and celebrating her great-grand-aunt’s legacy, will be among the guests of honour at Vicar Street, to accept the award on her behalf.

In addition to the live broadcast of the awards on RTÉ Radio 1, a television highlights programme will air on RTÉ One on Saturday 1st March.

For more on the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, see www.rte.ie/culture.

You can also view the 1996 Late Late Show Tribute to Dónal Lunny, from RTÉ Archives here: RTÉ Archives | Arts and Culture | Donal Lunny Tribute

-ENDS-

For information and photography:

Neil O’Gorman, Corporate Communications Manager, RTÉ | neil.ogorman@rte.ie

Photo Credit (main image): Rich Gilligan

ABOUT DÓNAL LUNNY

Planxty, the Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin: with these bands, to name just a selection, and a string of collaborations with internationally renowned artists, Dónal Lunny has been a driving force behind the popularity of Irish folk and traditional music.

In a career spanning more than half a century, his influence as a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer has shaped the sound of these genres, making him one of the most significant figures to multiple generations of artists. Dónal’s innovative approach, his willingness to push boundaries and test the norms of genres such as folk, traditional, jazz, and rock, have brought the music and the listeners to new places.

His new group, ‘Dónal Lunny’s Darkhorse’, will be performing live at this year’s RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards.

He has collaborated with, and produced, major international artists such as Kate Bush and Mark Knopfler, and produced the album ‘Common Ground: Voices of Modern Irish Music’, featuring artists such as Elvis Costello, Neil and Tim Finn, as well as Bono and Adam Clayton.