Liam Miller was born April 24, 1924, in Mountrath, Ireland. Educated in Ireland at Ballyfin College and University College Dublin, he studied architecture. He married Josephine Browne in 1947, and together they founded the Dolmen Press in 1951. The Press operated in Dublin from 1951 until Liam Miller's death in 1987. A printing division was opened in the late 1950s as an additional revenue source, and was eventually shut down in 1979. The division took printing jobs from publishers as well as theaters, art galleries, businesses and individuals.

Founded to provide a publishing outlet for Irish poetry, the Press also heavily featured the work of Irish artists. The scope of the press grew to include prose literature by Irish authors as well as a broad range of critical works about Irish literature and theater. The life and works of W. B. Yeats is a recurring theme in a variety of works, including the Yeats Centenary Series. One highlight in the Press' history was the publication of in 1969. Thomas Kinsella's translation of the Irish epic poem took 15 years from concept to publication and represented a milestone in Irish publishing. By the 1980s the Press had created the Brogeen Books division for juvenile works, and many of the later publications were under this imprint.

Liam Miller is also associated with the Cuala Press. When the press reorganized in 1969 under the stewardship of W. B. Yeats' children Michael and Anne Yeats, three others - Liam Miller, Thomas Kinsella, and Patrick O'Carroll - joined them. The Press focused on hand-printing and publishing first-edition Irish works through the 1970s, but had stopped by the end of the decade.

Liam Miller was also a book designer. Miller's major design projects stemmed from the post-Vatican II changes to the Catholic Church missals, mass books, etc. Occasionally, jobs for the printing division were also works that he designed. In addition to his role with the Dolmen Press, Miller was very active in the Dublin community. An avid philatelist, he served for many years on the Irish Department of Posts and Telegraphs' Philatelic Advisory Committee. Passionate about live theater, Miller helped revive the Abbey Theatre and the Abbey's Peacock Theatre. He became director of the Lantern Theatre, and frequently used his architectural skills to design and create sets for the Lantern's productions. An authority on Yeats and Irish theater, he wrote and spoke frequently on these topics.