It was announced on the evening of October 23 that Irish musician Donal Lunny had died aged 79.

One of Ireland's most celebrated musicians, Donal Lunny, has died, with friends and fans alike paying tribute to him.

The 79-year-old was hailed as a gifted multi-instrumentalist and was widely considered as a central figure of the revival of Irish traditional music.

Speaking about his life and legacy on The Pat Kenny Show was fellow gifted multi-instrumentalist Sharon Shannon, who remembered Lunny as a musician with a "magic touch".

She shared: "Everything Donal touched turns to gold. All the albums that he played, just all these amazing albums that I have loved over the years, Donal is just all over them all and then adding his magic touch."

Lunny had been ill recently with varying reports on how ill he was, but he made what Ms Shannon called "a miraculous recovery".

She continued: "It was amazing. It was like a miracle. We were all so happy.

"It was it was such a privilege to be in his company always, but especially when he came back from such a horrible disease the last time and he he just really surprised everyone with his will to live. It was huge.

"So [news of his passing was] an awful shock for people. But I knew he had gotten an infection in his one remaining lung, so that's what happened."

Donal Lunny's career spanned decades, with many remembering him as part of the groundbreaking Planxty in 1971, then the Bothy Band and Moving Hearts in the 1980s.

He was widely praised for his understanding of the balance between tradition and innovation when it came to Irish music, and was a reknowned as a musician and producer.

In recent years, he had dabbled in more contemporary music, producing albums fo rhte likes of Elvis Costello, Rod Stewart, Kate Bush and Clannad.

He also branched into writing scores for films, including This is My Father which starred Aidan Quinn and James Caan.

Main Image: Donal Lunny Pic: Alamy Stock Photo