On St. Patrick's Day, our thoughts naturally turn to the country of Ireland. What is there for the deaf and hard of hearing community of Ireland, or those in the deaf and hard of hearing community who are of Irish descent?
Organizations and Events
- Irish Deaf Society (The National Association OF the Deaf) - The IDS was established in 1982 by the deaf community of Ireland in response to what they felt was a lack of quality in services for the deaf rendered by non-deaf organizations. Among the services provided by the IDS is an Irish Sign Language Academy for learning Irish sign language. The association also publishes the Irish Deaf News.
- Irish Deaf Youth Association - The IDYA is an organization for young deaf Irish under 30 years of age. Affiliated with the Irish Deaf Society, this organization is involved with an annual summer camp for deaf teenagers from Ireland and the United Kingdom.
- Another organization for young deaf Irish is the Northern Ireland Deaf Youth Association. NIDYA provides social services, and information on deaf clubs in Northern Ireland.
- Greenbow - Greenbow is Ireland's national organization for deaf gay, lesbian, and transgender people.
- Irish Hard of Hearing Association - Begun in 1986, this organization has its own magazine, "Hearsay." Its sister organization for young Irish HOH is "YAH," the Young Action on Hearing."
General Irish Deaf Web Resources
Deaf and hard of hearing people in Ireland can turn to general deaf websites in Ireland. One such general deaf website is IrishDeaf.com, which offers a directory for the Irish deaf community. In addition, there is information on subtitled movies, deaf club events, interpreted, captioned, and deaf theatre performances, and much more.
Irish Deaf Clubs
Ireland has many deaf clubs. The IrishDeaf.com directory has a long listing. The largest and oldest one is the Dublin Deaf Association, which has given birth to several organizations including the Irish Deaf Sports Association, the Sign Language Association of Ireland (for sign language teachers), a National Deaf Senior Council, and even a Rainbow Club for Deafblind Adults.Irish Sign Language
Ireland's sign language is"Irish Sign Language," or ISL. Information on ISL is available from the IDS, including a chart of the Irish Sign Language alphabet. IDS also sells a DVD of the Standard ISL Dictionary.Deaf Studies in Ireland
Trinity College in Dublin has a Centre for Deaf Studies. The Centre offers beginner and intermediate sign language courses, and degrees in interpreting, teaching sign language, and deaf studies. The Center also does linguistic research on Irish Sign Language.Education
The IrishDeaf.com directory has a listing of programs (units) for deaf students in hearing schools. There are also a few schools for the deaf such as the Midwest School for Hearing Impaired Children in Limerick.Discussion Lists and News
There is a deaf-ireland discussion list. This group is open to both deaf people living in Ireland, and deaf people worldwide of Irish descent.Books
Published books about deafness in Ireland include the following:- Breaking the Silence: The Education of the Deaf in Ireland 1816-1966 - Written by a parent, this book looks at the history of deaf education in Ireland and also promotes the use of sign language. A review of this book was published by Gallaudet University in Perspectives in Education and Deafness magazine, Volume 16, Number 4, March/April 1998.
- The Irish Deaf Community - This series is a study of the Irish deaf community and Irish sign language, through the years.
