The Joan Trimble Bursary Awards continue to support local musical talent and is currently open for applications from local young people. Established by her family and administered by the Fermanagh Trust, the Joan Trimble Bursary Awards were set up in memory of the Enniskillen born musician and composer.

The Awards recognise Joan’s lifelong commitment to County Fermanagh and their purpose is to encourage the involvement of young people in creativity, the performing arts and Irish culture. The latest bursary recipients include five local young musicians.

Moya Sweeney will use her grant award for Master Class lessons with an accordion tutor and harp tutor. The Master Class lessons will largely be online in the current climate but will improve Moya’s repertoire and confidence in these instruments. Tenor Andrew Irwin, a previous Joan Trimble Award recipient, has been supported this round to produce his debut album which will include five Fermanagh songs.

Aoibheann King, Anna Toal and Lucy Toal will use their grant awards to attend the National Youth Choir residential course in Campbell College Belfast. Aoibheann is a committed singer and has achieved many place first place successes in competitions. Anna has achieved Grade 6 and is now working toward grade 8 in classical singing. Lucy is preparing for Trinity College of Music ATCL performance Diploma in singing and recently achieved grade 8 with distinction in singing.

Caroline Gant, daughter of the late Joan Trimble commented: “Congratulations to our recent recipients who encompass everything the Joan Trimble Bursary Awards are about and we’re delighted to be able to help in nurturing their talents. While it has been an incredibly challenging time for our young people, it’s so important their skills are not lost therefore it's great to see various courses continuing and we’re pleased to be able to support access to them. We’re currently open for applications and hope we can reach even more local individuals with these bursaries.”