A south Armagh singer-songwriter has said he is “honoured” to have been asked to join the judging panel for a major showcase celebrating the achievements of people living with complex disabilities.
Joe Kenny, from Dromintee, who is blind, will help judge the national disability charity Sense’s annual awards.
The charity Sense has been supporting people with complex disabilities, including deaf-blindness in Northern Ireland for almost 40 years. Indeed, it has recently announced the development of a new hub in Belfast which it hopes will support 1,000 by 2026.
Its annual awards, which have been running for 21 years, have 13 categories, including ‘Volunteer of the Year’, ‘Family Carer of the Year’ and ‘Celebrity of the Year’.
The shortlist and winners are decided by a panel of disabled judges, and this year one of those is singer, musician and songwriter Joe Kenny, who has more than 25 years’ experience performing live music.
Forty-six-year-old Joe, who has been blind since the age of five, has racked up thousands of streams on his original songs, including singles ‘Chasing A Dream’ and ‘Label Me’ from his debut EP, ‘Perfect Fool’.
A keen advocate for disability inclusion and equality, Joe has worked for more than a decade in charity communications.
On being invited to judge the Sense Awards, Joe said: “It really is an honour to be on the judging panel for this year’s Sense Awards, which have such a long history of recognising the achievements of people with complex disabilities.
“Choosing the winners won’t be easy, but I’m looking forward to reading the nominations and finding out more about the incredible people and stories that the Awards look to celebrate.”
Joe is among a team of other disabled judges who will decide the shortlists and winners for this year’s Sense Awards. Fellow judges include Sense’s reigning ‘Person of the Year’ Paige Barnes, Jaina Mistry who is England’s first blind female fitness instructor, and Lisette Auton, an author, playwright, activist and performer.
You can find out more about this year’s Awards at www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards/
