When his voice broke he succeeded his brother John (1810–1844) as organist of Sandford Church, Dublin.
He married the English pianist Fanny Arthur (1831–1879; later known as "Mrs Joseph Robinson" or Fanny Robinson) in 1849, and their house at 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street became a centre for visiting international musicians, including Joseph Joachim.
Robinson was a co-founder of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1848 and professor of singing there (1856–75, and again from 1887), also conducting choral and orchestral classes, and a vice-president of the institution's Board of Studies, 1892–6.
His busy teaching and conducting schedule left comparatively little time for composition.
[4] He twice declined the conferment of a "Doctor of Music" (MusD) title from Trinity College Dublin, preferring to be known as "Joe Robinson".