Dónal Lunny’s Wife and Partner: His Marriages and Family Story

Dónal Lunny’s surviving partner was Una O’Boyle, while his two documented marriages were to Judy Slott and Japanese musician Hideko Itami, also known as Itami Hideko. The distinction matters because accounts of his personal life sometimes group his wives and partners together.

The influential Irish musician died on October 23, 2026, aged 79. RTÉ named Una among his surviving loved ones, alongside his children Oisín, Cora Venus and Sora Chan. His son Shane, whom he shared with Sinéad O’Connor, died in 2022. rte.ie

For listeners, Lunny’s name will always be connected with Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts. His arrangements and instrumental playing helped Irish traditional music reach new audiences while retaining its distinctive character.

His family story unfolded alongside that career. It included relationships across several countries, children who developed their own creative interests, and painful losses during his later years.

Una O’Boyle Was His Partner

Una O’Boyle was identified as Lunny’s partner in reports announcing his death.

That wording provides the clearest answer for readers wondering who shared his later life. Public reporting described her as his partner, rather than confirming that she was his wife.

The available coverage offers limited detail about the beginning of their relationship or their everyday life together. There is no need to fill those gaps with assumptions about a wedding, a particular anniversary or how they first met.

What is established is her place among the people closest to him at the time of his death.

In a life extensively documented through performances, recordings and interviews, some relationships remained less visible. Una’s inclusion in the reports of his passing acknowledges that personal connection without revealing every detail of it.

His First Wife Was Judy Slott

Lunny married Judy Slott in 1969, during an early stage of his musical career.

Judy was Californian and worked in the film business. Their marriage lasted approximately seven years, according to a 1996 interview with Lunny in The Irish Times.

The couple had a son, Oisín, who later became a musician himself.

Their marriage coincided with a period when Lunny’s professional life was changing quickly. His involvement in Irish music was expanding, and the social world surrounding that work was becoming increasingly demanding.

A later documentary account described their home as a gathering place for musicians and acquaintances. That detail offers some context for the pressures surrounding their relationship, although it cannot explain everything about a marriage.

Judy belongs to the earliest chapter of his adult family life, before many of the recordings that would define his reputation.

Oisín Lunny Followed His Own Creative Path

Oisín Lunny, the son of Dónal and Judy, developed a career connected to music and creative work.

During the 1996 interview, Dónal discussed Oisín’s piano and guitar playing, his work with the group Marxman, and projects on which father and son had collaborated.

Their connection through music was therefore more than a shared interest. At different points, it became a working relationship too.

That does not mean Oisín simply followed the same route as his father. His musical activities belonged to a different setting and generation.

Still, their collaborations provide a personal detail within a career often described through famous bands and celebrated recording sessions. Among the musicians with whom Dónal worked was his own son.

He Also Had a Relationship With Gina Moxley

Irish actress and playwright Gina Moxley was another significant figure in Lunny’s personal life.

Lunny discussed their long relationship in the same 1996 profile, which reported that they had lived together for several years.

Moxley had her own established place in Irish theatre as a writer and performer. Her career should be understood independently of her former relationship with Lunny.

The available reporting identifies her as a former partner. It does not establish that they married.

That distinction helps keep the family history clear. Lunny’s relationship with Moxley was part of his life, but it was separate from his marriages to Judy Slott and Hideko Itami.

Julia Buthe Was the Mother of Cora Venus

Lunny also had a relationship with German photographer Julia Buthe. They shared a daughter, Cora Venus Lunny.

Cora developed into a violinist and composer, building a musical identity of her own.

Her early ability was already attracting attention during the 1990s. Coverage from that period described her classical training and achievements, showing that her connection to music extended beyond being the daughter of a prominent performer.

Julia’s role in supporting that development also appeared in accounts of Cora’s childhood.

For Lunny, this created another family connection through music, although his daughter’s work would take its own form. His career was strongly associated with traditional and folk music, while Cora’s activities crossed classical performance and other creative approaches.

His Second Wife Was Hideko Itami

Lunny’s second documented marriage was to Japanese musician Hideko Itami.

The relationship connected his family life with Japan, where he spent a period living. They had a daughter, Sora, who was named Sora Chan in reports of his death.

Hideko brought her own musical background to the relationship. Their marriage formed part of a life in which personal connections and artistic work often crossed national borders.

Lunny’s later reflections also acknowledged difficulties in that marriage. A 2026 review of the documentary In Time: Dónal Lunny reported that he discussed the damage caused by his relationship with Sinéad O’Connor.

Those comments make clear that the history was complicated. They do not justify inventing a precise divorce timeline or assigning feelings to people who have not publicly described them. irishtimes.com

Sinéad O’Connor Was His Partner, Not His Wife

One of the most widely discussed relationships in Lunny’s life was with Sinéad O’Connor.

The two musicians shared professional connections as well as a personal relationship. They became parents to Shane in 2004.

They were not married.

That is an important clarification because searches about Lunny’s wife often bring up O’Connor. Their shared son made them part of each other’s family history, but she was not one of his two documented wives.

Their careers also had distinct identities. O’Connor became internationally recognized for her voice and songwriting, while Lunny’s influence was particularly strong in instrumental performance, arrangements and production.

Music connected them professionally, and Shane connected them as parents.

Their Son Shane Died in 2022

Shane died in January 2022 at the age of 17.

His death was a profound loss for his family and became a painful part of public accounts of both parents’ later lives.

O’Connor died in July 2023, aged 56.

When discussing these events, it is possible to acknowledge their importance without repeating distressing details or making assumptions about private grief.

Shane’s place in Lunny’s family history should also extend beyond the circumstances of his death. He was his son, and references to surviving children should not erase that relationship.

Reports announcing Lunny’s passing remembered Shane while naming the family members who survived his father.

His Children Had Different Relationships With Public Life

The four children identified in accounts of Lunny’s family are Oisín, Cora Venus, Sora and Shane.

Oisín and Cora became publicly known through their own creative work. Information about Sora has been less extensive.

Their different levels of visibility matter when writing about the family. A parent’s fame does not mean every child has chosen the same public life.

Lunny’s relationships also occurred during different stages of a long career. Judy was part of his early adult years, Julia was the mother of Cora, Hideko shared his Japanese chapter, and O’Connor was Shane’s mother.

Keeping those connections clear provides a more useful picture than treating everyone as part of one continuous household.

His Later Years Brought Recognition and Reflection

Lunny received a lifetime achievement award at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards in 2025.

The honor recognized a career that had influenced generations of musicians and listeners. It also offered an opportunity for longtime collaborators to celebrate the person behind the recordings.

In 2026, In Time: Dónal Lunny explored his creative and personal history. Directed by Nuala O’Connor, the documentary included contributions from musicians such as Christy Moore, Andy Irvine and Paddy Glackin.

RTÉ described the film as an account of both his contribution to Irish culture and the changing world in which his career developed. About RTÉ

That broader view is valuable. His marriages, partnerships and children were part of a life that cannot be understood entirely through a discography.

His Family Story Accompanied a Remarkable Career

Lunny was born in Tullamore, County Offaly, and grew up in Newbridge, County Kildare.

He became particularly associated with the bouzouki, helping establish new possibilities for the instrument within Irish traditional music. His work also extended across guitar, keyboards, percussion, composition and production.

The Irish Times reported that he died at St James’s Hospital in Dublin following cancer. Tributes recognized both his musical imagination and the breadth of his contribution.

Behind that public legacy was a family history involving two marriages, other important relationships and four children. Una O’Boyle was his surviving partner, while Judy Slott and Hideko Itami were his previously documented wives.

Those distinctions give a clear answer to questions about Dónal Lunny’s wife while preserving the fuller story of the people who shared different chapters of his life.