This will brighten up your afternoon.
At a wedding in Portlaoise last weekend, the couple involved decided to have their first dance performed by members of the Midlands ISL choir.
Midlands ISL Learners was founded by Portlaoise woman Karen Chadwick who aims to make Portlaoise a deaf friendly town.
She runs classes teaching sign language, and, at the request of her friends Lynda Donoghue and Dave Murray, she set up a choir who went on to perform at their wedding in the Midlands Park Hotel.
The couple’s daughter Leah is a child with Down syndrome and Lynda explained to LaoisToday how, when she was a baby, she learned Lámh – which is a form of sign language – to communicate.
Lynda said: “Leah is seven now and she can communicate verbally but she still uses sign language if she gets frustrated.
“Myself and my two daughters, Leah and Megan, joined Karen’s classes when she set up Midlands ISL Learners and I was fascinated with how it all worked.
“None of us are deaf or hard of hearing but we wanted to be able to communicate with people who are.”
Lynda wanted to incorporate sign language into her wedding and Karen came up with this brilliant idea.
The kids, none of whom are deaf, signed Christine Perri’s classic ‘A Thousand Years’ as Lynda and David danced with their daughters Leah and Megan.
It was a moving performance which reduced many of the guests to tears.
Lynda said: “These kids are not deaf or have any hearing issues but they are learning Irish sign language in classes to bridge the gap between hearing and non hearing people in their community.
“Classes are weekly for adults, kids and teens. To make our first dance special they signed it at our wedding.
“This is the first kids ISL choir in the Midlands. It was absolutely perfect and I could see a number of our guests in tears.”
The performance has had over 12,000 views on Facebook and Lynda revealed that the kids and Karen are planning their next performance.
She said: “They are taken aback by the reaction – we can’t believe it.
“Karen Chadwick is a simply remarkable woman and I am so appreciative for what she organised for me.”
You can find the group on Facebook at Midlands ISL Learners. And you can check out their video below:
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