This much I know: Donal Lunny, Musician

The creative process can be like catching a loose thread. You have to pay attention. What may begin as the most trivial and insignificant idea can grow into something important and beautiful.

I enjoy being a public figure. It is very gratifying when someone thanks me for all the years of music. It happens to me quite a lot and it always touches me.

I adore Japan. My wife is Japanese and I have spent a lot of time there. It’s a highly evolved culture. They have a fantastic civic spirit. There are practically no vandalism, violent crime or drug problems. Even littering and road rage don’t exist. Of course Japanese society is not without its failings, but we could certainly learn a lot from some of their attitudes.

Ireland is my home now. I have resigned myself to that. After some time I have discovered that it is not going to be possible for me to make a living in Japan. The balance has shifted back to me working and living here.

I believe in karma but I wouldn’t say I believe in fate.

I recently played a gig in the Button Factory and afterwards there was a DJ ‘Mayan Countdown’ set. That really intrigued me. The Mayan Calendar finishes a cycle on December 21 this year. The expectation is that it will be followed by a period of enlightenment and a new beginning. Although, it could also be preceded by a cataclysmic event.

If I could change one thing in our society, I’d do something about the banks. People are being penalised for reckless borrowing, but I would like to see the banks being made to take some responsibility for reckless lending.

I had some great teachers in school. One particular piece of wisdom from Brother Maurice stayed with me. He said: ‘In a few years time you will think that you know everything, and a few years after that you will think that you know nothing.’ That is exactly what did happen. By my early 30s, I thought I knew nothing at all.

It’s hard to be methodical about being creative but sometimes I have to force myself to write something, even when nothing is coming easily. If I plug away at it, something usually does happen due to the sheer effort I’m putting in.

When I started playing music the notion of creating or writing it didn’t cross my mind. My sister Maura was the first person I heard improvising. I was around eight years old and I was so impressed that she was making something up. My siblings didn’t pursue a career in music but my family was much more musical than I realised when I was growing up.

We lived in Tullamore until I was five years old and my earliest memory of music is from that time.

I can remember it to this day: listening to a neighbour playing the piano.

I would love to resume jewellery making. That’s what I did before my professional musical career took off, after I’d been to art college. I worked mostly in silver and gold.

Of course my parents weren’t too pleased that I opted for the music — I can still hear the words ‘you will have nothing to fall back on.’

I enjoy the smoke and mirrors aspect of producing and recording music. And I love collaborating on projects like the one I’m doing with Anthony Cronin. We have taken his brilliant poem ‘RMS Titanic’ — which has been described as the best epic poem of the 20th century — and combined it with music.

I still get apprehensive about performing a new piece of work. Just because I consider that I have achieved something doesn’t mean it’s any good.

So far, life has taught me that it pays to be optimistic. Yes, optimism definitely has its rewards.

Donal Lunny will perform RMS Titanic by Anthony Cronin at the Kilkenny Arts Festival on Aug 12. Tickets from www.kilkennyarts.ie. He will also be playing An Droichead, Belfast on Aug 25.