'Why we have to send our deaf 12-year-old son to Dublin', say heartbroken Cork parents

Couple forced to send their son to board at a school for the deaf in the capital to preserve his fluency in sign language due to a lack of facilities in Cork

Émile Palmer with his parents Ronan and Sophie at their home in Cork. Pictures: David Keane

Lack of specialist deaf facilities has forced a Cork couple to make the heartbreaking decision to send their young son to boarding school in Dublin.

Ronan Palmer and his partner Sophie say they are determined to preserve their son Émile’s first language  — Irish Sign Language (ISL) — and the only way they can do this is to choose a secondary school for him hours away from their home.