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 -- widely and affectionately described at the time as what today would be called a 'boy band'. 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" 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. 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.