Clare school girl to feature on new RTÉ show exploring challenges of deaf education
Deaf not Dumb, a new documentary that explores the challenges of deaf education in Ireland, will air on RTÉ One on Thursday, November 23 at 10.15pm.
John and Mary Cass and their daughter Niamh, from Kilkishen, a rural village in Clare share their personal experiences in the show.
Niamh travels by taxi every day to the deaf unit in Ennis and says that she is ‘much happier’ in the deaf unit than she was at her local school, as she was bullied for being deaf.
The documentary explores the challenges of deaf education in Ireland and highlights the historical issues that have prevented deaf people from reaching their full academic potential.
In 2017 Irish Sign Language became the third official language of the state. Through personal stories of deaf children and their parents, the documentary explores how things have come full circle with the promising resurgence of deaf education methods that were in use at the foundation of the state.