Belfast’s Deaf Communit(ies?): Language, Education, Poverty and the Law, 1851 – 1920

It will describe the unique aspects of Catholic and Protestant deaf cultural and social expression on the island during this period; while two Deaf communities and two different sign languages came to be used on the island of Ireland, Belfast showed a more integrated, cross-community model of Deaf society. Elements of the social history of Deaf people who used signed languages in Belfast will then be illustrated, including the struggles families endured to have their deaf children educated, the varied attitudes and responses of local Boards of Guardians towards requests for funding for school fees, and the highly consequential nature of these decisions on the shape of the emerging deaf community over time. Deaf people's experiences in Irish workhouses will also be explored, including patterns of usage, communication, and the unique dangers such institutions posed to Deaf inmates. Moving to the courtrooms of Belfast and its hinterland, evidence will be shown that Deaf witnesses used sign language in proceedings in Irish courtrooms throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, using interpreters and writing; Deaf signers were also active litigants, utilising police courts, petty sessions and quarter sessions proceedings to settle civil grievances. For Deaf defendants found guilty, the unique and harrowing experience of deaf convicts will also be illustrated.

Drawing on the presenter’s doctoral dissertation, the paper takes a 'history from below' approach, using sources such as workhouse indoor relief registers, prison registers, and Petty Sessions order books alongside extensive use of electronic newspaper databases. This year, as part of our 250th Anniversary celebrations, Belfast Charitable Society hope to use our talks and events to help raise funds for our ongoing philanthropic work, therefore we will be offering these free, with a 'pay what you can' donation. All funds raised will be used to support those most in need. Thank you in advance for your support. Dr Cormac Leonard has been a professional Irish Sign Language / English interpreter since 2005, as well as a trainer of interpreters, and also a keen genealogist and family history tutor. He has a long-standing fascination with the history of Deaf people and the historical development of Irish Sign Language, and submitted his PhD thesis, "Deaf People in Ireland: Education, Poverty, and the Law, 1851-1922" in April 2022. This event will feature British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters.

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