Limerick School for the Deaf

The Mid-West School for the Deaf was founded in 1979. Until then the only option available to hearing impaired children was residential schooling in Dublin.
Parents were very anxious that a day school for the Deaf would be accessible to children in the Mid-West region.
A parents association was established and the setting up of the school went ahead without departmental sanction. For the first year accommodation, the association met bills, and all other costs. In 1980 the school was sanctioned by the Department of Education.
A long campaign prevailed to provide a suitable building for the education of deaf children. Eventually, in 1998 President Mary McAleese in Our Lady’s of Lourdes School grounds Rosbrien, Limerick, opened a new purpose built school.
The opening of this school was the result of tremendous work by parents, staff, Boards of Managements, and Parents Associations over many years.
Having achieved a new building the school then set out to develop further, by putting appropriate programmes in place for post-primary deaf children. The school currently caters for primary and post-primary Hearing Impaired pupils for the Mid-West regions. Pupils are taught through sign language or orally, where appropriate.
For the past two years a pre-school facility has been put in place to ensure early intervention for hearing impaired children. The school is now in a position to cater for the hearing impaired child from pre-school age to school leaving age.