Mr. John Cottrell:

I thank members for giving me the opportunity to speak to them today. My name is John Cottrell and I am here to represent the student council of Bishopstown community school, Cork. We fully support the submission by our fellow student, Alain Newstead, to have a standardised Irish Sign Language, ISL, version of the national anthem. Members of our student council were also in the Seanad last year to support the Bill to recognise Irish Sign Language and we continue to strongly support the Bill to ensure equal citizenship for members of our school community and the deaf community of Ireland. It is important to us as a student council as we have students and staff members in the school who are deaf or hard of hearing and use ISL as their main language. Our role as a student council is to give a voice to students in our school community and I am here today to continue our work as an advocate. As a student council we support the proposal to protect the wording and usage of the national anthem. It is a national treasure and deserves to be protected. The anthem is played at very important commemorations and ceremonies as well as sporting events. As Irish citizens, it provides us with a symbol of our history and identity.

Standing in respect and singing the anthem connects Irish people everywhere with their country. It gives real expression and citizenship to all of us. Our school community wants to ensure that an ISL interpretation of the national anthem is standardised and provided in order for all deaf and hard of hearing to have equal citizenship and participation. The national anthem is a part of our heritage and culture. It is such a huge part of our sporting events both nationally and internationally. I am a keen sportsman and I have been to and played in GAA finals where both teams and supporters sang "Amhrán na bhFiann" before the game. I am always very proud singing with everyone else. It allows me to express my pride towards my team, my community and my country. At such a time I am connected to every other player and supporter present at the match. It is necessary to have an ISL standardised interpretation of the national anthem in order for Alain and other Irish Sign Language users to share in this experience.

It is essential that my fellow students all feel connected to their community and are active members of it. They should have positive experiences of belonging and participation. Students and staff who are deaf and hard of hearing are very much equal members of our school community. I was disappointed to hear how some of my fellow students and teacher felt disconnected from our school community when the national anthem was sung on the recent visit of the Lord Mayor. Unfortunately, they were not in a position to participate due to the fact that there is no ISL interpretation of "Amhrán na bhFiann". That is something the student council of Bishopstown community school wishes to change in order to ensure that students from our school, together with the wider deaf community, can fully participate in the national anthem at future events.

The student council and the whole school community are very passionate about addressing this issue. Bishopstown community school strives for each member to be respected and valued for their unique qualities and abilities. Furthermore, the mission statement of the school clearly states that the school aims to develop the whole school community so that we may be better able to realise to the full our potential as individuals and active members of society. In order to achieve that vision, one of the aims of the school is to encourage participation and excellence in every aspect of life. I call on the members here today to support my school in ensuring it achieves that vision by providing equal opportunity of participation in official events and sporting occasions when the national anthem is sung. They should please ensure that all students and staff members can participate by making provision for a standardised ISL translation of the national anthem. I thank members for considering the submission and for giving us a voice in this debate.