Dermot McIlroy, along with his wife Colleen, started McIlroy Musical Instruments on March 6th 2000. Dermot already had 21 years of experience behind him, 10 of those with the Lowden Guitar Co, where he played a role in all aspects of guitar making from the machine shop (he was a qualified wood machinist) to production manager and everything in-between. The company continues to introduce models and there are currently over 4800 different model options. In recent years, Dermot has been joined by his sons Damian and Niall. Colleen continues to do the bookkeeping, so it has become a real family business.