William Finlay was the first Chairman of the Board of the Dublin International Piano Competition. He was Governor of the Bank of Ireland from 1975 to 1982.     

The William Finlay Programme for Gifted Young Pianists is named in his honour.

This programme, which commenced in 2010, targets young pianists between the ages of 13 and 17 every three years.  The pianists are given intensive coaching in a variety of areas related to the piano, including education in the wider arts, performance psychology, mentoring, marketing and presentation skills.

The current winners of this programme are:

1. Lucy Byrne
2. Defne Gultoprak
3. Stan O’Beirne
4. Joe O’Grady

The Dublin International Piano Competition values and encourages participation in the Finlay Programme for young pianists between the ages of 13  and 17 years.

We are committed to ensuring the protection of the participants of the Finlay Programme  and we recognise the dignity of rights of the participants at all times.