The Claremont Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, was the first school for the Deaf in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was established in 1816 by Dr. Charles Orpen. In the institution it provided structured educational support for the Deaf community by including vocational training and religious instruction. Over time, Claremont became an accredited school that gave broad recognition to Deaf culture and their human rights in the country of Ireland.

History

During his work at the

Workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

of the House of Industry in Dublin in 1816, Dr. Orpen found at least twenty-one deaf children. He selected a deaf and dumb boy, Thomas Collins, for tuition. After devoting his leisure hours, for a few months, to the partial education of the boy at his own house, Dr. Orpen gave a few popular lectures at the Rotunda, in which he brought forward the most striking features in the condition of the Deaf, and the principal facts with respect to the history of their education, as a science recently invented, and the establishment of schools in various countries for their relief. Collins' progress in written language, in calculation, and in articulate speech, after only a few months' instruction, was so satisfactory that the cause of the Deaf was immediately taken up by the public. The National Institution for Education of the Deaf and Dumb Poor in Ireland was formed shortly afterwards. In 1817 the Committee of this institution hired a small house in Brunswick Street (now

Pearse Street Pearse Street () is a major street in Dublin. It runs from College Street in the west to MacMahon Bridge in the east, and is one of the city's longest streets. It has several different types of residential and commercial property along its le ...

) for their pupils. In 1819 the Committee purchased a large demesne called Claremont with a house near the village of

, just outside Dublin. At this time also female pupils were first admitted.

Alumni and instructors

* Edith Lloyd (1872-1963) taught at the school in 1891.

References

Pollard, Rachel. ''The Avenue : A History of the Claremont Institution''. Dublin: Denzille Press, 2006. {{Schools for the deaf Schools for the deaf in Ireland