Cuireadh Tionscnamh Lugh ar bun in 1993 leis an cheol Ghaelach a chur chun cinn sa Ghaeltacht.

Tionscnamh Lugh was formed in 1993 to promote traditional and indigenous Irish music in the Donegal Gaeltacht.

Tionscnamh Lugh are a promotion group formed by people interested in music who took it upon themselves to bring the musicians they enjoy to the Donegal Gaeltacht, in the absence of any other group performing this task.

Michael O' Fearraigh and Gearoid O Smaolain were aware that tourists to the Gaeltacht arrived with the impression that they would find indigenous Irish music, but at that time they had great difficulty locating it. This was one of the primary reasons for forming Tionscnamh Lugh and the belief was borne out by the success of the evening sessions known as Trad Tráthnóna.

Another motivation for setting up the organisation was the fact that most of the bigger acts in Irish/traditional music did not travel to this area. Liam O Maonlai was quoted as saying "You'd have to be a pilgrim to go there" , he is now a devout pilgrim himself.

Tá muid buích do Mheitheal Forbatha na Gaeltachta, Udaras na Gaeltachta agus Radio na Gaeltachta agus d'achan duine a thug tacaíocht dúinn go dtí seo. Bíonn clár imolán ceoil a reachtáil ag Tionscnamh Lugh idir Trad Tráthnóna agus ceolchoirmeacha agus tá muid fíor-bhuíoch daoibhse uilig a tháinig chuig na h-imeachtaí go dtí seo.

Events

Tionscnamh Lugh organise up to ten concerts each year as well as the summer series of sessions known as Trad Tráthnóna and the Ceol Cois Locha series. In the past Tionscnamh Lugh have played host to such artists as Paul Brady, Sharon Shannon, Altan, Cooney & Begley, DeDannan...

Until 1997 the majority of Tionscnamh Lugh events had been held in Ionad Cois Locha, Dún Lúiche, a venue which greatly appeals to musicans and audiences alike. Martin O Connor described the setting as "too picturesque" . The venue holds 200 people which is quite limiting, but it has the advantages of being acoustically perfect and intimate.

The summer of 1997 saw a further expansion of Tionscnamh activities, with Trad Tráthnóna sessions taking place in Glenveigh National Park and Foras Cultúir Uladh, Glencolmcille.

Tionscnamh Lugh's New Year concerts led to the establishment of an Irish traditional music school called Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy which has, in conjunction with the concerts, provided a tourism boon to the Gaeltacht region at a traditionally off-peak tourism period.

"The downside of this spectacular success (Tionscnamh Lugh's new year concerts 1996) was the queues of hopeful people shivering in Artic conditions outside the centre before the gigs, including some continental tourists who had hitched from the other side of the country. There were virtually no returns." (The Irish Times, January 4 1996) .