Irish Deaf Society 

The Irish Deaf Society is the only national Deaf-led representative organisation of the Deaf and hard of hearing, and it serves the interests and welfare of the Deaf community. The organization was set up in 1981. It provides various educational, personal, and social services to Deaf and hard of hearing children, adults and their families.

The Irish Deaf Society’s mission is to achieve and promote the Equality and Rights of Deaf people in Ireland. On the grounds of the Irish Constitution and Human Rights and international legislation, the ambition of full access to citizenship and society is sought through the empowerment and mobilisation of the Deaf community. With an awareness of their identity and their rights as individuals, Deaf people in Ireland are enabled to celebrate their culture and continue to ensure the upholding of Irish Sign Language recognition and break down the barriers of discrimination.

The Irish Deaf Society is recognised as a Disabled Peoples Organisation (DPO) under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). IDS are members of the World Federation of the Deaf and the European Union of the Deaf.

The funding from our players has been vital for IDS to provide a series of mental health workshops for the deaf people in our communities. These wonderful people were left vulnerable and exposed to a grave risk of mental health setbacks because of great difficulty in accessing mental health services with Irish Sign Language provisions. IDS held workshops that facilitated this need in an accessible manner. The workshops were held with mental health practitioners to offer guidance to members of the Deaf community struggling with mental health issues. This promotes awareness and knowledge of mental health, as well as a sense of empowerment for Deaf people.

We're proud that we can support such a fantastic society doing great work in the community to help promote the equality and rights of deaf and hard of hearing people in Ireland.