Hands On Series 16 Programme 8

(with subtitles/without audio for copyright reasons) Through remarkable archive footage, photographs and personal accounts of past pupils and teachers, presenter Seán Herlihy explores St Mary's School for Deaf Girls unlikely establishment during the Famine of the 1840s, how the "Cabra Method" of educating Deaf children spread all over the world, and how the controversial decision to ban sign language in 1950 in favour of an "oral education" impacted the students at the time. St Mary's is one of the oldest Deaf schools in the world and continues to teach Deaf children to the present day. It has been one of the most significant contributors to the education of Deaf children around the world. Hands On is produced by Mind the Gap Films for RTÉ One. © Hands on 2012