Boundary-Pushing Lighting Design Built on 90 Years of Delivery

Our story begins with our grandfather, Willie Duggan. He set up Willie Duggan Lighting in 1935. His mother told him the future was either in railroads or electricity—this was where innovation was happening and he chose electricity. He had a passion for the lighting element of electrical work, so he opened a lighting shop in addition to his electrical contracting business. He was an original lighting designer, literally putting fluorescent tubes into wardrobes back in the 1940s, backlighting spaces when no one else was doing it. He built a lighting business alongside his electrical contracting company.

Our father was a maverick who took his father’s business and turned it into a design-to-supply lighting business. He was an electrical contractor and also played international rugby for Ireland in the 70s and 80s. Lighting consultancy wasn’t a thing then, but he brought that thinking into our business, designing and supplying lighting, moving the business from pure electrical contracting into a lighting design and supply direction. He brought the same attitude to the business that his father and before him, his grandmother had: do things differently. Be original. Lead change. When lighting design wasn’t yet a known profession in Ireland, there were no consultants; he was designing light. But at that time, supply was still the biggest part of the business. That’s what drove it.

I come from a consultancy background. I’m a chartered engineer. I’ve worked as an independent lighting designer. I’ve worked in consultancy for many years. But again, education, keynote speaking, pushing boundaries, that’s what drives me. It’s the same ethos that flows through our family: from our great-grandmother, grandfather, and father, always doing things differently, always push to change the industry.

Our dad, Willie Duggan, used to manufacture fittings. Monica and I used to wire them as kids. From an early age, we understood how they go together. We know the product. Through our education, we understand how light is used, how it’s installed, and how it’s maintained. All the important aspects of light, we’ve lived them. That’s our foundation.

We bring that mix to lighting design today. We combine a deep, practical understanding of light, built over three generations, with creativity, originality, and the ambition to change how lighting is designed, delivered, and installed. Our designs push boundaries but stay rooted in reality, from budget, delivery, and performance. We understand light from every angle. That’s what we bring. That’s our mission, to reshape how light is experienced in the world. And it’s what we bring every day to our projects