REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE CENTRE FOR DEAF STUDIES AT TRINITY COLLEGE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE CENTRE FOR DEAF STUDIES AT TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN
Tá lúcháir mhór orm bheith i bhur measc inniu ag an ócáid speisialta seo agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl díbh don fáilte a raibh fíor agus flaithiúil.
I have the privilege of being invited to attend many openings and they are always terrific occasions of great pride and hope but none more so than this and none closer to my heart than this new Centre for Deaf Studies. I am particularly grateful to Michael Gleeson for inviting me to be part of the story of this immensely important initiative.
In this the European Year of Languages, with its emphasis on language diversity it is more than right that sign language should take its place in the world of scholarship and that deaf studies should be given their place by this, the doyenne of Irish Universities. To see such studies fully included and indeed given such priority in the spectrum of endeavour to which this great University is committed, must give reassurance that we are on the path to becoming a fully inclusive society where deaf men, women, boys and girls will not only know their full potential but realise it in their everyday lives.
I have lived long enough to see many changes in the world of deaf education, from a time when tiny tots took the train from Belfast to boarding schools in Dublin, uncomprehending, hysterical, inconsolable, to schools where sign language was strictly prohibited, to a world where cracking the code of English often defeated them, where professional teachers of the deaf were a rare species, and career paths were mostly frustrating cul de sacs.
My own home life, as sister to a profoundly deaf brother gave me a little bit of insight into that world, its difficulties, its complexity, its loneliness, its marginality. So I welcome the many changes which have bridged those old gaps and challenged old thinking, old presumptions. The deaf as a community and the deaf as individuals are no longer as silent as they once were, no longer as quietly enduring, no longer content to be spoken for and spoken of without being, listened to first. We have learnt a lot in recent years about the ways in which society has often through ignorance, or misguided good-intentions, or skewed paternalism, failed to see that the full dignity and human rights of our people were not being honoured. Now we know that every life wasted through lack of opportunity causes a huge loss not just to that human person but to every one of us. Our best natural resource on this island and on this planet is the giftedness, the unique giftedness of every human being. We have all seen too much of that resource wasted.
Crucial to fully accessing that potential which lies in each of us, is effective, sensitive, intelligent communication. We need to know each other’s language and we need to know each other’s landscape. As Ezra Pound put it “The sum of human wisdom is not contained in any one language and no single language is capable of expressing all forms and degrees of human comprehension”.
The opening of this centre is not the end of a story of struggle but the beginning of a story of a great adventure as we move towards a time when every deaf or deafened child can feel the strength and confidence that comes from being centre stage. This promises to be a major national centre for excellence, raising awareness, both in the deaf and hearing communities of Irish Sign Language and Irish Deaf Culture. Irish life will be enriched and enhanced by what you do here. Many individuals will now have open to them, thanks to you, enhanced career opportunities and new life options. The continuing professional education and research which you will engage in, are sure guarantees that the future will be very, very different from the past.
This Centre opens at a time when better educational support and advances in technology have provided new and exciting opportunities for the deaf community. The INTERNET, the fax, the text message phone, voice recognition based computers, and a host of other developments have special application and offer real liberation to the deaf. These opportunities together with increased awareness of the needs of the deaf are nudging us forward to a world of greater inclusiveness by removing the physical and educational barriers that still exist.
Today’s event is a celebration and affirmation in many ways of the work that is being done to building identity and equal status for deaf people. I would like to commend and congratulate everyone who embarked on the journey to bring this important project to life. Your work is important, very important. It is important to the deaf, yes, and it is important to Ireland. Not until we have full social inclusion will we know our strength and realise our potential. The centre has already begun to make a difference, to mark a watershed between past and future. I wish you well as you become not just a major national centre of excellence but the major centre and support for a community that has long waited for this day. I thank you for your warm welcome to me today and I wish you every success in the years ahead.
Go n-éirí go geal libh. Go raibh maith agaibh.