The Merry Sisters of Fate is an album by Irish Celtic band Lúnasa that was released in 2001 on Green Linnet Records.

After having built up success from 1996–1998, Irish Celtic music band Lúnasa signed a three-album deal with Green Linnet Records, on which they released their second album Otherworld (1999).

[10] The band produced the album by themselves, with Dave Odlum, of Irish rock group The Frames providing co-production on several tunes.

"[9] Hutchinson was once caught experimenting in the studio with a bow and bouzouki by the band's fiddle and whistle player Seán Smyth, who recalled thinking "This man has lost it.

[11] Seán Smyth recalled “I remember coming into the studio and seeing Trevor with the bow and the bouzouki and thinking 'This man has lost it'," but such experimentation became "an intrinsic component of their music.

"[18] Besides the aforementioned inclusion of unusual instruments, the record is characterised by presenting "a softer touch" by the "fully confident" band, as opposed to Otherworld which "sparkled with all the energy of Lúnasa’s live performances.

"[19] The Irish Times said "original tunes abound, finesse shares equal status with percussion, and so Sean Smyth's fiddle weaves cosily between Kevin Crawford's flute and Cillian Vallely's ever-subtle piping.

"[18] The album's "rare" sound was described by Roots World: "The basic lineup of Lunasa features pipes, flute, whistle, fiddle, guitar and bass.

A handful of guest players add a little piano here, a bit of clarinet there, a touch of percussion, some steel guitar and even a taste of harmonium.

Many of today’s aspiring Celtic musicians could take note for a well-structured arrangement is pivotal in keeping the audience’s attention.

[20] The second track, "Donogh & Mike's", is an offbeat reel featuring lap steel guitar played by Ed Dean.

[12] "The Merry Sisters of Fate" is a "barnburning rave-up"[12] that is "as in-your-face a traditional track as you’ll hear anywhere" according to one review, "bridged by Hennessy’s percussive picking and dotted with tantalizing embellishments from the flute, fiddle and pipes carrying each melody.

[13] “Iníon Ní Scannláin,” a single waltz, is "a brooding beauty of a tune" composed by Hennessy"[15] which features piano work by Pat Fitzpatrick.

[10] The band said waltzes are "not our thing really," but they joked that Hennessy "demanded they play it"; he wrote it for Pauline, "a very beautiful girl" from Dingle.

[14] "Páistín Fionn" features clarinet being played by guest musician Kieran Wilde, which was described by reviewers as "courtly" and an "odd addition.

[21] The tour concluded on 28 August with a free concert performed before approximately 4,000 people outside the World Trade Center in Manhattan, exactly two weeks before the center's towers were destroyed in the September 11 attacks; upon hearing about the attack, Crawford "immediately conveyed his sympathy and support from his home in West Clare, and his words circulated on the Internet.

[12] Jamie O'Brien of Roots World was very positive, calling the band's playing quality "exceptional," noting "every tune is one that sticks in your mind.

"[18] He concluded that "everything about The Merry Sisters of Fate, from its content to its title, shows that not only have they produced a worthy successor [to Otherworld], they have also moved a step or two forward.

[1] On the band's "best of" album The Story So Far (2008), three tracks from The Merry Sisters of Fate are included: "Killarney Boys of Pleasure", "Casu" and a new exclusive re-recording of "Morning Nightcap", recorded with the help of Erik Jaskowiak at Compass Sound Studio, Nashville, Tennessee in October 2006.

[9] Many of the album's tracks became live staples for the band, as evidenced by their live album Lúnasa with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra (2013), a collaboration with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra which reworks many of the band's to incorporate orchestral parts, which features renditions of four tracks from Merry Sisters; "Casu", "The Minor Bee", "The Merry Sisters of Fate", which is combined with "Dr Gilbert's", and "Morning Nightcap".