Adrian gets involved

INCH man Adrian Rynne was the winner of an Ireland Involved Award for his volunteer work in The Saturday Club with DeafHear.ie in Limerick.

He was nominated for the award by Lissycasey man Kieran Melican who is a social worker with www.deafhear.ie.
Adrian is profoundly deaf and uses sign language but this hasn’t held him back as he has a degree in fine art and a higher diploma in teacher training for Art and Design in LIT.
The Saturday Club meet once a month. It provides art and craft and social outlets for people who have an intellectual disability but who are deaf and use Irish Sign Language to communicate.
The aim of the club is to provide an environment where individuals can use ISL. At the same time, carers and staff are encouraged to stay and learn some ISL, in order to communicate better with their clients.
The Saturday Club has a number of service users from other services in the Mid-West including St Joseph’s Foundation in Charleville, the Brothers of Charity Services and the Daughters of Charity in Limerick.
Adrian has used his experience of being deaf, a sign language user and qualified art teacher to benefit his clients. He has brought new ways of working with profoundly deaf individuals with intellectual disabilities and this has brought about a significant improvement in their communication skills, something that has been commented on by service providers. His work has also made service providers aware of the necessity of providing a sign language environment so that the individual can reach their potential
He also does locum teaching and volunteer work at the deaf unit in Ennis Community College. Lisa O’Brien, head of the deaf unit in the college, noted, “Adrian has been a great role model for the students of the unit for the deaf in Ennis Community College over the past number of years. He is a great teacher and the students have responded positively to his guidance and presence”.
For further information on The Saturday Club contact Kieran Melican on 061 467494.