A 17-year-old Deaf harpist has described her "full circle" moment as she returned to a dedicated class for Deaf children in Wexford to share her "love of music".
Una Walsh, who was diagnosed with profound hearing loss when she was ten, performed for Sacred Heart National School Newbawn's dedicated Deaf class, as part of their multi-sensory approach to learning through music.
She began playing music at the age of five despite being almost entirely Deaf, and stole the hearts of the nation when she appeared on the Late Late Toy Show in 2021.
She has stressed the importance of making music more accessible to the Deaf community, who learn largely through vibration.
"For a Deaf person, music is probably appreciated more just because in order to 'hear' it you have to feel it and think about it.
"People who aren’t Deaf often just focus on the sound, but there’s much more to it than that," she said.
Una’s "life changed" when she received a hearing aid at the age of 11, and now, just seven years after her diagnosis, she is almost fluent in ISL.
"I just want to share my love of music with other kids like me, and I think teaching is the perfect way to do that."
The Wexford native hopes her journey will inspire Deaf children across the country, that a future in music is possible.
"When I was their age in primary school, I didn’t even have hearing aids, and I had no one to look up to in that sense, I didn’t know of any Deaf musicians at the time," she said.
"To be able to go into the room and showcase that it is doable, that a Deaf person can get to a high level, is so important."
"And to see them really gripping onto it, and have really good potential to be musicians themselves, and there’s definitely a few, it’s really special," she added.
Originally working with the children of Sacred Heart as part of Transition Year work experience, Una described her visit as a "full circle moment" and hopes to return to the classroom one day as a teacher.
"I just want to share my love of music with other kids like me, and I think teaching is the perfect way to do that," she said.
Sacred Heart’s Deaf class is no stranger to the arts, and holds a weekly music class with composer George Higgs, who has been teaching multi-sensory music for almost 15 years.
"We're different to a 'traditional’ music class. We sit at the table often facing each other, making eye contact. It’s very tactile, and there’s a lot of movement.
"It’s a very social approach to the art of music," he said.
Music is a 'whole-body experience,' says composer
Mr Higgs highlighted the Deaf community’s unique, yet often overlooked perspective on music, describing it as a "sense ensemble".
"Music is for our ears, our eyes and our bodies, it’s a whole-body experience, and a social experience most importantly."
"So, the idea that you have to hear to participate in music just doesn’t make sense," he said.
"Irrespective of hearing loss, these children are so musically gifted, their sense of rhythm is incredible."
The local musician added that like a 'mainstream classroom', every child requires a "unique approach".
"Deaf people are all very different, their levels of hearing are different, the assistive technology they use, like cochlear implants, can be very different," he said.
"But when you come together and create beautiful music, it’s so gratifying."
First opening in September 2019 Sacred Heart’s Deaf class now caters for ten students, a testament, Mr Higgs says, to the staff’s dedication in embracing new approaches with their students.
"They’re short for space but they’re always up for making things happen," he said.
"They know how important this is for the kids here in the Deaf class, and it’s so gratifying to see how lucky they are to have teachers like that."
"My hat is off to them," added Mr Higgs.
