 At the age of sixteen, she became the youngest ever winner of the RTÉ Musician of the Future competition, and was chosen by "The Irish Times"' TV ad campaign to represent the new face of Ireland.In 2001, she was a laureate of the Sarasate Violin International Competition in Pamplona, Spain, to which she would return again in 2007 as a member of the international jury.In 2002, Lunny was a guest musician on Sinéad O'Connor's album of traditional Irish songs, "Sean-Nós Nua", her first excursion into the non-classical world.