Visual Art: Accessible Tours at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Spring 2025

Join the Hugh Lane Gallery for their programme of accessible tours.

Tours for people who are hard of hearing or who have a hearing impairment Thursday 20 February at 11am 

Join the gallery for a guided visit to Bafushia an exhibition of contemporary artists who share Traveller heritage on view in gallery 6 with Anne Cormican.

Tour for People who are hard of hearing or have a hearing impairment Thursday 20 March at 11am

This tour led by Dr Anne Cormican will focus on the work of artist Francis Bacon on display.

Tour for People who are hard of hearing or have a hearing impairment Thursday 17 April at 11am

Join the gallery for a guided tour of the exhibition Ailbhe Ní Bhriain: The Dream Pool Intervals with Aoife Convery.

In person visit for people with a visual impairment Friday 9 May at 11am
Join the gallery for an in person  audio described visit to the exhibition Brian Maguire La Grande Illusion for people with a visual impairment This one hour tour led by Dr Anne Cormican will be followed by tea/coffee and an opportunity for chat and further discussion.

Tour for People who are hard of hearing or have a hearing impairment Thursday 22 May at 11am
This tour will explore highlights of Hugh Lane Gallery collection with guide Tony Suttle.

Booking and more details about audio description

Booking for these events is free via hughlane.ie or by calling 01 222 55 60.

Please do contact Tori Boccarossa of the Education Team on 01 222 55 60 should you require assistance with booking a place over the phone or should you wish to discuss anything further.

For these tours, they use audio description devices as individual loop devices which connect with a microphone headset worn by the tour guide, that can transit to the loop devices. They can then be used by people with hearing aids to connect to or for those hard of hearing but who don’t have hearing aids, they can use their own or ADI’s earpieces.

Information on the T setting and Tours for Hearing Aid Users

It is necessary to have access to your T setting on your hearing aid to connect to the tour guide equipment.

Not all hearing aids actually have the T setting as part of their standard functions. However, the majority of hearing aids provided by the HSE do have the T setting available. The hearing aids need to be programmed by the audiologist to include the T-coil program/Loop program/T setting. Then the hearing aid user needs to understand how to access that program option, which is usually through pressing a button on their hearing aid or selecting this program from a drop-down list on an app on their mobile phone.

Many hearing aids now have Bluetooth programs/ Bluetooth compatibility access as standard, however, these tend to be designed to function with brand-specific products and are not compatible with the equipment being used during this tour.

Images: Banner image Leanne McDonagh, grid images by Francis Bacon, Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, and Antonio Mancini, all courtesy of the Hugh Lane.