| The Claremont Institution | |
|---|---|
 The Claremont Institution around 1820 | |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 53°22′19.20″N6°16′22.80″W / 53.3720000°N 6.2730000°W /53.3720000; -6.2730000 |
| Information | |
| School type | School for the deaf |
| Founder | Dr. Charles Orpen |
TheClaremont Institution for the Deaf and Dumb atGlasnevin,Dublin, was the first school for the Deaf inIreland. It was established in 1816 byDr. Charles Orpen. In the institution it provided structured educational support for the Deaf community by including vocational training and religious instruction. Over time, Claremont became an accredited school that gave broad recognition to Deaf culture and their human rights in the country of Ireland.
During his work at theWorkhouse of the House of Industry in Dublin in 1816, Dr. Orpen found at least twenty-one deaf children. He selected a deaf and dumb boy, Thomas Collins, for tuition. After devoting his leisure hours, for a few months, to the partial education of the boy at his own house, Dr. Orpen gave a few popular lectures at the Rotunda, in which he brought forward the most striking features in the condition of the Deaf, and the principal facts with respect to the history of their education, as a science recently invented, and the establishment of schools in various countries for their relief. Collins' progress in written language, in calculation, and in articulate speech, after only a few months' instruction, was so satisfactory that the cause of the Deaf was immediately taken up by the public.
The National Institution for Education of the Deaf and Dumb Poor in Ireland was formed shortly afterwards. In 1817 the Committee of this institution hired a small house in Brunswick Street (nowPearse Street) for their pupils.[1]
In 1819 the Committee purchased a large demesne called Claremont with a house near the village ofGlasnevin, just outside Dublin. At this time also female pupils were first admitted.[2]
This article incorporates text fromThe Dublin penny journal, Volumes 3-4, a publication from 1835, now in thepublic domain in the United States.
Pollard, Rachel.The Avenue : A History of the Claremont Institution. Dublin: Denzille Press, 2006.