The integrated approach to Irish Sign Language in the Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament)

13 December 2023

This IPEN seminar will showcase how the Irish Sign Language (ISL) Interpreting Team at the Houses of the Oireachtas are working towards integrating Irish Sign Language into aspects of the Irish parliament.

Caroline O’Leary and Ciara Grant from the ISL Team will give an overview of their roles and responsibilities, with a particular focus on the recent development of a new ISL glossary of parliamentary terminology.

Parliamentary interpreting brings with it many challenges, one of which being the use of English parliamentary terminology where an ISL equivalent has not yet been established. The ISL team collaborated with twelve Deaf Interpreting students from the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College Dublin, to co-create over eighty signs for parliamentary terms where previously an ISL equivalent was not formally established or known to the ISL team.

This online event is open to all members of the International Parliament Engagement Network. Find out more about the network.

Image: Ciara Grant, Junior Irish Sign language (ISL) Interpreter at the Houses of the Oireachtas recording an ISL interpretation of an address given by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.