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A financial crisis which has hit the Irish Deaf Society this week - could mean a huge loss of Deaf services in Kerry - from this March.

With funds running low and following an emergency meeting on Saturday in Dublin, the Irish Deaf Society (IDS) has taken the decision to prepare to close its doors - as it has failed to secure financial support from the Government or another state body.

The news comes just one year after the Government officially recognised Irish Sign Language as an official language in Ireland. It’s also the first time in 38 years, since IDS set up, that core funding for the service has been an issue.

The decision to close down will also affect IDS services, including IDS Advocacy, the Irish Sign Language Academy and the Deaf Adult Literary Services.

It came a huge shock to members of Kerry’s Deaf community especially as just this week  Dublin City University unveiled a new undergraduate programme which will enable Deaf and hard of hearing people who use Irish Sign Language (ISL) to enter primary teaching.

This week, Killarney woman Christine O’Donoghue, who is Deaf and teaches literacy to members of the Deaf community in Kerry, says she is shocked with the sudden news.

Both Christine and Bernadette O’Connor from Kerry Deaf Women's Group (KDG), along with Kerry Deaf Resource Centre in Tralee who provide an invaluable service to the Deaf and hard of hearing in Kerry, are calling on the public to support their campaign to save the service.

They plan to get a petition together and lobby TDs to put pressure on the Government to secure financial support and keep the service going.

“I’m absolutely shocked,” Christine told the Killarney Advertiser through an interpreter, on Thursday.

“It's both a disappointment and a shock. If there’s no support, where do Deaf people go and what do they do? To think this has happened after ISL was recognised is so unexpected. Without the core funding we’re going back to square one - the days of no opportunities."

Willie White, Manager of the Kerry Deaf Resource Centre said the closure of the IDS would impact all in the Deaf community nationally.

“On a local level, it would mean the end of our Deaf Adult Literacy Service (DALS) classes as the tutor is funded by the IDS,” he said.

“The newly passed ISL Act wouldn't have been a reality without the leadership of the IDS and we need their input nationally, and indeed locally, if we are to implement access across all Government Depts and Public Bodies in the years to come.”