Deaf Village Ireland

A new campus featuring state of the art leisure facilities for the deaf community and hard of hearing has officially opened in Dublin. See a video report from the RTE (Raidió Teilifís Éireann)
 news here.

Film Fest in Ireland

The first Irish Deaf Film Festival takes place Oct 12-14 in Dublin. Posted below on DeafNewsToday.com is a video about it.

Irish Awards

The Irish Deaf Society and Hidden Hearing have given out awards in celebration for outstanding achievements among the deaf and hard of hearing in Ireland. They are called the Corcoran the Hidden Hearing Heroes Workplace Award. Here are the winners.

•  Social Contribution – John P Doyle 
•  Lifetime Achievement – Con Lynch, Gay Byrne 
•  Supporter – Carol Dunworth 
•  Media - John Bosco Conama 
• Youth – Sean O’Connor 
•  Sportsperson – Wayne Reid 
•  Grandparent – Aidan L Dillon 
• Workplace Award – Johnny Corcoran 

Learn more about the awards here.

The Silence

BBC officials were so impressed with a new thriller called The Silence, they decided to give it during a primetime broadcast slot. It will run in four parts sometime later this year. Filmed on location in Dublin, the drama was lead by Dearbhla Walsh, an Emmy award winning Irish director. Deaf actress Genevieve Barr plays the lead role of a young woman who has recently been fitted with a cochlear implant. A graduate of Edinburgh University, she was teaching in an inner London secondary school, giving up her career to take on the role. Barr had to learn sign for some scenes with deaf actors who do. Adding to the complications, the interpreter on set came from Britain and used BSL rather than Irish sign. In the film, the girl witnesses the murder of a policewoman. The Silence attempts to show what cochlear implant users hear and Walsh made that experience central to the story.