Alec Finn, first in the Cana Band and subsequently in De Dannan, introduced the first Greek trichordo (3 course) bouzouki into Irish music.

Soon after, on a visit with Irvine to the workshop of luthier Peter Abnett, Lunny commissioned a 4 course bouzouki with a three-piece, partially staved back.

A few individuals though, have pioneered the bouzouki's application for melodic work, including such players as Pat Kilbride, Brian McNeill, Jamie McMenemy, Gerald Trimble, Roger Landes, and others.

[4] Shortly after he returned from Eastern Europe in late 1969,[3](p 81) Irvine met Dónal Lunny – who had been playing guitar up to that point – and gave him a Greek bouzouki he had brought back from his travels.

[6] A year or so later, Lunny accompanied Irvine to Peter Abnett's workshop and commissioned a partially staved-back instrument with the similar specifications, thus the Irish bouzouki was born.

In a parallel development, Alec Finn, later with the Galway-based traditional group De Dannan, obtained a Greek trichordo bouzouki on his own.

Almost immediately after the Greek bouzouki's initial introduction, new designs built specifically for Irish traditional music were developed.

English builder Peter Abnett,[8] – who was the first instrument-maker to build a uniquely "Irish" bouzouki, for Dónal Lunny in 1972 [9] – developed a hybrid design with a 3-piece, partially staved back, and straight sides.

[10] The G2−D3−A3−D4 tuning was pioneered by Johnny Moynihan, presumably in an attempt to replicate the open, droning sound of Appalachian "clawhammer" banjo, first on the mandolin and then transferred to a Greek bouzouki.

Alec Finn, playing a Greek trichordo bouzouki, used the traditional D3−A3−D4 tuning with the octave pair on the lower D3 course changed to unison.