Mayo entries are being sought for the 2013 Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards. This is the third year of the awards, a joint initiative between Ireland’s premier hearing healthcare provider Hidden Hearing and the Irish Deaf Society. The awards honour those who are deaf or hard of hearing and who make a significant contribution to society, their community, workplace, or through sporting excellence.
The awards were launched by deaf badminton players Johnny Corcoran and Aidan Connor, sporting heroes who will represent Ireland in Bulgaria at the Deaflympics this month.
Members of the Mayo public can nominate their ‘hero’ who they feel deserves to be recognised for an award across several different categories and nominees can also put themselves forward for an award. Submissions can be made online, by post, or by video using Irish Sign Language which will then be transcribed – see www.hiddenhearing.ie for full nomination details. Previous winners included Orla O’Sullivan, a deaf-blind pianist and teacher who developed a unique and successful method to teach music to deaf children, and Killian McDonnell, a teenager who made history as the first deaf student with Down Syndrome to pass his Leaving Cert.
The categories include: Workplace Award - an award for someone who has excelled in the workplace; Youth Award - for those aged between six and 18 who have achieved much in their young lives; Family Award – nomination for a family member who has been a great support to a deaf or hard of hearing person; Sportsperson Award – recognising outstanding sporting achievement; Social Contribution Award - recognising contributions to society and communities; and Lifetime Achievement Award – for an individual who has played a key role over his/her lifetime.
Nominations can be submitted online at www.hiddenhearing.ie or www.deaf.ie, by requesting a nomination form at [email protected], by filling out an entry form in Hidden Hearing’s 65 branches and clinics around the country, or at the Irish Deaf Society headquarters in Dublin. Contact [email protected] or 01 860 1878.
