Hugh Tinney came to international recognition by winning first prize in two European international competitions, the 1983 Pozzoli in Italy and the 1984 Paloma O’Shea in Spain, and since then he has performed in more than thirty-five countries throughout Europe, the United States, Latin America and the Far East.  A prize in the 1987 Leeds Piano Competition also led to a busy career in Great Britain. Hugh has made a major contribution to Irish concert life for over forty years, in multiple solo recital series, chamber music series, and frequent concerto appearances.

He has played chamber music with many distinguished individuals and groups; he and violinist Catherine Leonard collaborated as a duo for many years. He has recorded solo, chamber and concerto repertoire for RTÉ lyric fm and several other CD labels. From 2000 to 2006, Hugh was Artistic Director of “Music in Great Irish Houses”.  Later he was co-founder and joint Artistic Director of the Westport Festival of Chamber Music for many years. He is a Professor of Piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (1995-present), and he has been a jury member at several international piano competitions, including Santander and Dublin.  In September 2007, Hugh was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music by the National University of Ireland.