In spite of the growth in pupil-enrolment in Gaelscoileanna (Irish medium schools) in the last decade (Department of Education and Skills, 2016), research on Gaelscoileanna is sparse and practically none of that limited research addresses the issue of inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN). Kavanagh and Hickey (2013) note that there are often assumptions made that Gaelscoileanna pupil-profiles are relatively homogenous. Indeed, having a special educational need is sometimes the cause of transition from a Gaelscoil to an English-medium school (Rose et al, 2015). Furthermore, many children with SEN enrolled in English-medium schools can apply for an exemption from Irish which is otherwise compulsory (Department of Education and Science, 2009), and Irish is not delivered at all in many special schools catering for children with SEN.
Given this, it is somewhat surprising that we have recently seen the emergence of children who are deaf being enrolled in Gaelscoileanna. Given the difficulties usually associated with first language acquisition for this cohort, heritage language immersion programmes are not ordinarily considered a suitable placement. This paper presents early findings from an exploratory, qualitative study examining the emerging phenomenon of deaf children in Gaelscoileanna, contextualising it in the literature on deaf children and heritage language education, as well as the relevant policies governing education in the Republic of Ireland.