Lisa Dunne - ISL Interpreter in Irish Independent

Two worlds collide: A wider knowledge of sign language would make life a whole lot easier for the thousands of profoundly deaf people in this country

By Sue Leonard, Irish Independent, Monday September 01 2008

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...Lisa Dunne, 24, doesn't remember when she realised that her family was 'different'. An only child of deaf parents, known as a CODA, Lisa was always mixing with her extended family, many of whom are also deaf.

"My dad has two deaf brothers," says Lisa. "One has two children, one is deaf and one hearing, and the other brother has seven children, two hearing and five deaf. We are all very close."
Lisa used sign language to communicate with her parents. She learned it from them naturally, but was it tough, having to do all the talking for her parents?

"Being between the two worlds, these worlds that did not 'get' each other, could be hard," she says. "You are a kind of mediator. It was difficult sometimes, but it wasn't traumatic. I just went with it.

"It's not a strain at the time, but it can be inappropriate," she says. "I would have known bank and insurance details, and my parent's medical details. It is better, if possible, that parents do not always rely on a child to interpret. But often they don't have a choice."

After a year at college studying International Event Management, Lisa realised that the career was not for her. So she studied ISL at Trinity College Dublin, gaining an accreditation to work for a government agency as a freelance sign-language interpreter.

Rewarding
"I love my job," she says. "It takes me everywhere in the country. I might be at a business meeting, at a conference, or in a college signing to a deaf student from the front of the lecture hall," she says.

"It can be rewarding, but some deaf people go through hard times. And because we have to be neutral, there is not a lot we can do at the time. That can be frustrating."
What was it like, though, being brought up in a quiet home?

"Well we still had rows," she says. "We'd become really animated. The best thing, though, was when my friends stayed over. If we came in late we could make as much noise as we liked. My house was really popular!" she laughs.

- Sue Leonard