Liffey Light Orchestra

The Liffey Light Orchestra was founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1974 as a pit band for shows at Dublin University Players, the drama society at Trinity College Dublin (TCD).^[10][8] In 1976, it expanded to perform Tubular Bells for the first time outside the United Kingdom in a week-long sell-out run of concerts at TCD.^[7] In 1977, it expanded its repertoire to include Ommadawn, which it performed for the first time on 1 May 1977.^[5][6] It subsequently added the music of Jean-Michel Jarre,^[11] performing his Oxygène as part of the 1978 Dublin Theatre Festival.^[12] It continued playing live into the 1980s.

The band resumed playing in the 2000s as a studio group, releasing a series of albums: Filaments (2011),^[8] Le French Album (2017),^[13] Lekeila (2020), and Jigs and Other Stories (2025).^[14][15]

The Liffey Light Orchestra has featured a number of musicians who have played a role in shaping the group's sound.^{[citation needed]} These include:^[1][9]

• Anto Drennan, guitar, a founding member of the group and performer on all the group's albums
• Mick O'Brien, uilleann pipes and whistles
• Robbie Harris, bodhrán and other percussion
• Brian Dunning, flute, piccolo, and
• David Agnew, oboe and recorder.

The Liffey Light Orchestra's musical style is heavily influenced by Mike Oldfield's works, including his early album Tubular Bells and Ommadawn.^[16][17][9]