31 October 2011 (VOL 9 WEEK 45)
Halloween ActitivesWe would like to thank Geraldine Broderick for organising a few activities for Deaf members over Halloween. The first event we attended was the Nightmare Realm experience in Rock St in Tralee last week.
This was followed by a Scary Bus Tour in Killarney on Halloween Night. Our thanks also to Veronica and Willie for interpreting at these events. If you would like to be informed of upcoming events, please send us your mobile number and you will receive information via text messages.
Monthly mass by Fr. Gerard TyrrellFr. Gerard Tyrrell, Director of the National Chaplaincy for Deaf People will say Mass in St. Michael's Church in Lixnaw, Co. Kerry on the 13th of November at 2pm. The mass is open to members of the Deaf community, their family and friends. The mass will also remember Fr. Tom Woods who passed away recently. Tom worked with the Deaf community for many years.
If you require transport to the event or want further information, contact Veronica White (NCDP) or our service directly.
Vote for Dr. John Bosco ConamaDr. JBC is the 1st Deaf person from the Irish Sign Language community who has achieved a PHD (in Equality studies) and is currently an Assistant Professor and Co-ordinator in Deaf students at Trinity College Dublin.
He has been nominated for the Better Hero Award on
www.bettertogether.ie/content/dr-john-bosco-conama.
He was a former chairperson and board member of the Irish Deaf Society and now as a volunteer working in the area of Irish Sign Language recognition and works tirelessly with the Irish Sign Language Academy. He is an inspirational individual who has inspired not only the staff and board of the Irish Deaf Society, but he inspires every member of the Deaf community in Ireland.
Dr. JBC inspires the Deaf community with his "can do" attitude. Being Deaf has never held JBC back and because of this, he is a hero in the eyes of the Deaf community and for those who nominated him.
Deaf people in this country have never been educationally encouraged and because of this, there is a lack of Deaf people achieving 3rd level education - JBC shows that Deaf people can go to college and achieve their dreams. Please vote for Dr. JBC.
Vote for the Irish Deaf SocietyThe IDS have also been nominated for an award. To see their profile and message in sign language which is also subtitled, go to
www.bettertogether.ie/content/irish-deaf-society-better-together.
Great to see the IDS being nominated too after all their hard work campaigning for equal rights for the Deaf community. We wish them well.
IDK seminarIrish Deaf Kids is holding a FREE seminar for deaf teens and their parents to explore college, career and employment options for deaf young people.
It will be held on the 3rd of Nov in the Maldron Hotel, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 from 2pm to 4.30pm.
IDK welcomes expressions of interest from deaf teens and their parents for this free afternoon session. Places are strictly limited to 24 attendees and only those registered to attend will access the event. A cancellation list will be in effect but places will be on a first-registered, first served basis.
Real-time captioning and ISL interpretation will be available for the event.
For more information, go to
www.irishdeafkids.ie.
24 October 2011 (VOL 9 WEEK 44)
Christmas PartyOur Christmas party is on 4th of December in Stoker’s Lodge Tralee. If you would like to attend, please send us your names as soon as possible as we need to inform the restaurant of final numbers.
We will have a 4-course meal and spot prizes. It will cost €20 per adult and €10 per child. It will be on from 2-6pm.
We will have a 4-course meal and spot prizes. It will cost €20 per adult and €10 per child. It will be on from 2-6pm
Christmas MassOur Christmas Mass will also be held in the Stoker’s Lodge on the 4th of December at 1pm. Veronica White of the National Chaplaincy for Deaf People will interpret the mass.
If you require accessible transport to these events, please let us know immediately.
Supporter Of The Year NominationsDo you know of a person, organisation or a service that has been supportive of Deaf issues in the past year? Has someone contributed to improving the lives of Deaf people in Kerry? Has access improved in a particular service?
If so, send us their names and we will consider them for an award. The successful people will be announced at our Christmas party on the 4th of December and will be presented with a framed certificate, a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine.
Bereavement Training Cancelled Until New YearThe bereavement training course, which we hoped to run in early November, has been cancelled. One of the trainers is not available due to personal commitments.
We hope to run the training sometime in the New Year. We are very sorry if this has inconvenienced anyone. We will inform you of the new dates for the bereavement training as soon as they are confirmed.
Book and gift clubWe have just received new items for our Book and Gift club. You can view the items in our office until the 27th October. If you would like to order any item, please come in and fill in the order sheet.
- 30 handcraft inscribed cards- €20.
- Giant book of stencils- €7.
- Dream angel suncatcher- €9.
- 5 in 1 car charger- €7.
- Search for santa- €6.
- Storyteller bear- €15.
- Rockin Robbie- €15.
- Hip hop snowman- 1€3.
- Ice grippers- €7.
- Bath time light up ducks- €6.
- Cereal on the go- €.
- Cupcakes from primrose bakery- €7.
- Cake tins- €10.
- Chocolate cookbook- €7.
Next sporting events with the ITTLast week, we had great fun with the students from the Health and Leisure Dept of the ITT when we went to Cappanalea for canoeing and kayaking. Our thanks to the students and to the staff of the Outdoor Centre in Cappanalea for all their help and support.
The next events with the ITT will be Orienteering on the 23rd November (venue to be confirmed), and Rock Climbing on the 7th December in Dingle. If you would like to join us, please contact us ASAP.
ITT sign language societyThe Institute of Technology in Tralee has established a sign language society. Ahsan Memon, a Deaf student in the collge, is running the society.
The ITT now offers Irish Sign Language (ISL) classes on Tuesday in their south campus and on Thursday in their north campus. Classes run in both campuses from 1:15pm to 2pm. Classes are open to ITT students only.
For more information on the society, go to
www.facebook.com/pages/ITT-Sign-Language Society/298900650121922.
17 October 2011 (VOL 9 WEEK 43)
Ongoing delays with equipment application process for deaf & hard of hearingSince March 2011, there has been a hold up in funding for equipment applications for Deaf and hard of hearing in Kerry and Cork. We have just been informed that doorbells and fire alarms have been approved for March applicants. However, we do not know when the remaining equipment applications will be sanctioned. This issue is totally out of our control and sadly has not been fully addressed yet. We would like to apologise to our clients for the ongoing delays. We have done everything in our power to address these concerns with the relevant bodies and hope a positive outcome will happen quickly.
As a direct result of the delays, our Outreach service to elderly groups and Day Care Centres has been put on hold for the past number of months. If and when, issues are addressed and the backlog of equipment is cleared, we will reinstate these visits again.
Next monthly mass in sign languageOur next monthly mass will be held on the 13th of November. As usual the venue will be St. John's Pastoral Centre in Tralee. Veronica White of the National Chaplaincy will interpret the Mass. Tea and coffee will be served afterwards. If you require accessible transport to the Mass, please let us know.
Simply signing online shopSimply Signing is delighted to announce that their much loved Irish Sign Language books, posters and puppets are available to purchase on their website at
www.simplysigning.ie.
They have now included a large selection of puppets and puppet bundles for you to enjoy and capture the imagination of children, parents and teachers alike. Their books and puppets can capture the essence of fun and start you on your sign language journey.
If you would like to place an invoice order for a school or crèche, you will need to email or post your order on an official Purchase Order or on your school headed paper.
Simply Signing is now on Facebook too. For more information, contact Lorna McCormack (Director). Tel: 01 8257685 or email:
info@simplysigning.ie.
Volunteer sign language interpreters required for the 50th International Eucharistic CongressThe 50th Eucharistic Congress will be held in Dublin from the 10th-17th of June 2012. Following discussions with the International Catholic Deaf Foundation, it has been agreed that there will be a full Deaf track at next year’s Congress, including six workshops facilitated by the Foundation and signed for the Deaf.
The National Chaplaincy for Deaf People has put out a call for volunteer sign language interpreters for the congress. A video in sign language is available on Youtube with further information. To view the clip, go to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAxAKxNOWvw.
DeafHear press release "referendum commission snubs deaf voters".In a press release this week, DeafHear a national organisation working with Deaf and hard of hearing people objected strongly to a decision by the Referendum Commission not to have any sign language presentation in its Referendum television campaign.
DeafHear Chief Executive, Niall Keane, said,
"It is extraordinary that the Referendum Commission ignored our access advice because their PR company told them it would not improve accessibility significantly (for Deaf viewers) and might detract from the overall impact".
Mr. Keane added,
"We were told it would distract other viewers. Cost was not an issue as it is relatively cheap to sign the advertisement. We recommended that sign language was necessary to make the advertisement accessible to the 5,500 citizens who use Irish Sign Language as the primary means of communication, and who incidentally cannot avail of the radio advertising which is being provided by the Commission".
Mr. Keane acknowledged that the Commission will provide, on request, a sign language translation of an information leaflet to be posted to households nationally, and that the television advertisement is being subtitled for hard of hearing viewers. However, he stated
"the general public is getting three bites of the information cherry – the radio advertisement, the television advertisement and a personal leaflet posted to their home. In contrast, a Deaf voter will get less than one bite of the cherry – an information leaflet in sign language on a DVD, but only if you know to request it".
"The access and communication needs of Deaf voters are being suspended by the Referendum Commission on dubious PR advice that a sign language presentation would detract from their masterpiece and might even distract other viewers". Mr. Keane called the decision
"a disgraceful omission which disadvantages a significant community of potential voters who are already disadvantaged in information terms".
He said,
"If the sign language using community was recognised as a town population, it would be the 69th largest town in Ireland, larger than Kells, Birr, Roscommon or Mitchelstown, and significantly larger than the population of an average Irish town".
Pleading for
"equity of access for all citizens, including Deaf citizens", DeafHear pointed out that the Programme for Government pledges to examine mechanisms for promoting Irish Sign Language and that at least one Presidential Candidate (Sean Gallagher) presented his bid for the Presidency in sign language on his website.
10 October 2011 (VOL 9 WEEK 42)
Sporting activties with the ITTDue to bad weather, our surfing event with the Health and Leisure Dept in the Inst. of Technology, Tralee was cancelled. However, this did not put a damper on the day. Our group stopped off for a very informative tour of Ardfert Cathedral. Our thanks to the staff there for being so welcoming to our group. This was followed by cream scones and tea in Kate Brown's Bar. We finished the day by going for a Thai lunch to say a big thanks and goodbye to John Patrick Doherty who finished up on summer work experience with our service.
Last week, the weather was in our favour and we participated in the High Ropes activities in Dingle. This is a very challenging course, which our group thoroughly enjoyed. Our thanks to the ITT staff and students for being so welcoming and supportive.
We finished the day by going to the Dingle Waterworld Centre and were lucky enough to see feeding session with their penguins.
The next events with the ITT will be:
- Water activities (kayaking/canoeing) in Cappanalea on the 19th of October.
- Orienteering on the 23rd of October.
- Indoor rock climbing in Dingle on the 7th of December.
If you would like to participate in any of these events, please let us know. If you do not want to take part, you can come along to observe.
ITT students sports questionnaireWould you be interested in filling out a "Survey of Physical Activity and Outdoor Adventure Activities of People who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing"? If so, please let us know and we will forward you a copy. 4th year Health and Leisure students who worked with us last year on our sporting activities are carrying out the survey.
The questionnaire includes questions such as:
- What level of physical activity do you consider you take?
- What makes it difficulty or are there any barriers for you to participate in physical activity?
- Are there any additional barriers to taking part in outdoor adventure activities as opposed to other physical activities?
- What would you like to see occur so that there would be more opportunities available for people Deaf/hard of hearing to participate in physical activities and or outdoor activities?
MDSC annual regional meetingThe Munster Deaf Sports Council will hold their annual regional meeting on the 22nd of Oct in Hayes Hotel, Thurles. The meeting will be held from 1pm - 4 pm.
The meeting is open to members and non-members. On the day, you will also have the opportunity to take up membership and to order an MDSC polo shirt.
For more information, you can email:
munsterdeafsports@gmail.com.
Live advisor service launchedThe Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD recently officially launched a new instant chat information service for called ‘Live Advisor’ specifically for people with hearing and speech difficulties. The Citizens Information Board funds the service.
'Live Advisor' is a free, confidential, one-to-one service, which provides information on a wide range of social and civil rights and entitlements. The Live Advisor service, which is user friendly in design, is available between the hours of 9am and 5pm (Monday to Friday) and can be accessed by logging on to
www.ciboard.ie/liveadvisor.
Commenting at the launch Minister Joan Burton TD said, "The importance of information provision cannot be over emphasized as it is a key element in assisting people to participate in society. I am very familiar with the fact that people’s rights and entitlements can so often stand or fall on the quality of information available to them and on the level of access to information".
"The Citizens Information Phone Service team is very proud to now be in a position to assist people that previously had difficulty accessing our service. It is a step forward in our philosophy of inclusion for all" said Deirdre Power, Manager of the Citizens Information Phone Service (CIPS).
The service was actively promoted in 2010 with relevant voluntary bodies like the Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS) Irish Deaf Society, DeafHear, Cork Deaf Association, DFI and MS Ireland.
3 October 2011 (VOL 9 WEEK 41)
Training - Deaf people with learning disability
Do you work with Deaf people with a learning disability? If yes, then you might be interested in attending a two-day training course organised by our service on November 3rd and 4th in Tralee.
The aim of the course is to help support Deaf people with a learning disability on the death of a loved one.
The training will cover areas such as:
Practical measures to support service users before, during and after bereavement.
Information on mainstream services that provide bereavement support.
Identification of behaviour specific to people with intellectual disabilities at the time of the loss and bereavement.
The training will be provided by St. Michael’s House, which is a service for people with intellectual disability. It has developed a programme called "Live & Let Die".
Places are limited. The cost to attend the training is 150 euro for professionals and €25 for the unemployed. A specific rate may be available to those working in the Deaf community. Your employer may be able to cover the cost training as part of your Professional Development.
Sign Language interpreters will be provided. If you are interested, please contact us.
Tutor Training Workshops (DALS)The Deaf Adult Literacy Service is looking for new Deaf adult tutors. Training will be provided to tutors from Kerry, Galway, Waterford, Sligo, Donegal, Meath, Louth, Tipperary and Dublin.
Training will be provided in Dublin on the following dates: 15th and 16th of October, 19th and 20th of November, & the 3rd and 4th of December. Contact Susan Whelan at
susan@irishdeafsociety.ie or by text at 085 284 1884 for more information. The workshops and lunch are provided free of charge.
Hands On - Looking for interesting stories'Hands On', the programme that is aimed at the Deaf community is currently planning their 16th series of the programme. They are looking for some contributors for their chat show! Do you know of anyone with an interesting story to tell, who has achieved something amazing or has an unusual hobby?
If you do then drop Camilla an email at
camilla@mindthegapfilms.com with a brief summary about the person you know as they'd love to hear all about it!
For more information on Hands On, go to
www.rte.ie/tv/handson/.
IDYA 25th Anniversary reminderThe Irish Deaf Youth Association will be having their 25 Years Anniversary in the Radisson Hotel, Athlone this November 12th. Tickets cost €55, which must be paid in full by 21st October. Ticket can be paid in installments by placing a non-refundable deposit of €20.
The event is open to all over the age of 18. To buy a ticket, you can email:
25years@irishdeafyouth.com or you can send a text message to 085 1984166
The IDYA have also agreed a special rate with the hotel for those going to the IDYA Hollywood Ball. You cannot get this rate online, only by booking through Siobhan on her email. The cost for a Double/Twin Room is €99 and single room is €85. Email:
siobhan.doyle@radissonblu.com to book your room and remember to mention you are attending the IDYA event.
