Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreting and translation

ISL interpreting in Ireland and Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, always ask whether the Deaf person uses ISL or BSL, as many Deaf people there use one, the other or both. For older Deaf clients, it helps to know whether they attended the girls' or the boys' school, because of gendered vocabulary, and we match the interpreter accordingly.

We provide ISL interpreting on site and by video remote interpreting for public services and courts in Ireland, hospital and GP appointments, schools, colleges and universities, employment and workplace meetings, and Northern Ireland services. Deaf interpreters are used in Ireland for court and mental health settings, and we include one where it helps. Irish law places duties on public bodies to make statutory services accessible in ISL, and we help them plan interpreting for consultations, hearings and public events.

Written English or Irish into ISL video

We translate written English or Irish, including public service information, patient leaflets, school communications and workplace policies, into recorded ISL video produced with Deaf translators, and translate signed ISL video into written English. Irish certificates and records are handled by our translation team, with certification where required.

For organisations covering the whole island, we can produce ISL and BSL versions of the same information, so Deaf audiences in Northern Ireland can choose.

Captions and transcripts

We caption videos and recorded events and transcribe meetings that include signing, with live captioning available alongside ISL interpreters at conferences.

Broadcasters and public bodies publishing to audiences north and south of the border can order English captions together with ISL and BSL versions, so that the same content reaches every Deaf and hard of hearing viewer.

Where we can help in ISL

Our vetted, trained and qualified ISL interpreters can support public bodies and courts in Ireland, healthcare providers, schools and universities, employers and Northern Ireland services. SILA Linguists® coordinates every booking through one project team, works with vetted interpreters, and protects each assignment with confidentiality agreements and UK GDPR.