A Quiet Love: Carnmoney couple John and Agnes Carberry's remarkable story features in Irish Sign Language documentary
A documentary featuring the remarkable lives of a Carnmoney couple is being screened to audiences around the world - and has even received royal approval.
John and Agnes Carberry appear in A Quiet Love, a film that explores the relationships of three deaf couples through Irish Sign Language.
In the piece, audiences learn of how they met at Jordanstown School for deaf children and children with visual impairments.
From the Kilkeel area originally, Agnes grew up in a family of ten children, with two of her brothers also deaf. She attended the school at its original site on the Lisburn Road, and was still a pupil when it moved to Jordanstown.
John, from west Belfast, became deaf after contracting meningitis at the age of five. “Before that I was in a local school but when I returned, I struggled and the school had to tell my family that I wasn’t coping,” he said. “At the age of seven, I was sent to an all-boys boarding school in Dublin. At age 11, I was transferred to Jordanstown School because my mum wanted me closer to home.”
As a pupil at Jordanstown, John initially faced difficulties in communicating, having learned Irish Sign Language during his time in Dublin. “It was totally different to the school in Jordanstown; everyone was using British Sign Language,” he said. “But Agnes was a great help; she helped teach me [BSL].”
After leaving school, John and Agnes lost contact for a few years before meeting up again. Agnes said: “One weekend I came to a fellowship event at the deaf club in west Belfast. That’s when I met John again after not having seen him for a number of years - I never thought he would be there, but I was so glad to see him.”
Important message
At the same time as their relationship developed, The Troubles were beginning to emerge in Northern Ireland.
On one occasion Agnes, who got a job in Belfast as a machinist, was at work when a bomb exploded, showering her with glass from a shattered window.
Walking back to her accommodation, she recalls repeatedly looking over her shoulder, fearful of dangers she would not have been able to hear approaching.
John also recalled an occasion in his early 20s when, walking home at night, he was suddenly pulled into a house for his own safety after almost crossing an area where gunfire was being exchanged.
Their experiences during that time form an important message in the film, John added: “There are so many stories we have had over the years about The Troubles, but very little mention about deaf people’s lives. But we have lived through The Troubles, so it’s important for people to be aware, we had a hard time.”
The developing political situation created anxiety for the young couple on how their relationship would be received by their families. “We both came from different religious backgrounds and I sometimes felt like I needed to hide [the relationship],” said Agnes. “My mum and dad found out the truth and I did get a telling off. But when I brought John to meet my parents, straightaway, my mum and dad liked him.”
The couple moved to London, returning home briefly to get married in a small ceremony in Kilkeel. "One sad thing looking back was, I never told my family about the wedding,” John said. “When we got back to London, I wrote to my mum and dad to tell them we’d already got married. A couple of weeks later my mum wrote back and said ‘we’re so happy for you’, and that they wished they had known to give us their blessing.”
John and Agnes later returned to Northern Ireland and eventually settled in Carnmoney, raising five children: Sharon, Karen, Daniel, Linda and Paula.
John worked as a regional training officer with the RNID for 23 years, later becoming a sign language tutor and a member of the Board of Governors at Jordanstown School.
When their youngest daughter was two, Agnes was offered a role in the school’s nursery department. She then transferred to the senior school as a sign language assistant, staying there until her retirement at the age of 65. “It was the most enjoyable job I’ve had throughout my life,” she said. “I still have such a strong place in my heart for Jordanstown School and the pupils there.”
Worldwide screenings
Since its premiere in February 2026, A Quiet Love has been screened at locations both across Ireland and around the world.
Full details of upcoming screenings are available here.
It is hoped the film will be shown in the autumn on TG4.
Meanwhile, a short edit of A Quiet Love was shown in Newcastle Community Cinema during King Charles’s visit to Northern Ireland in May.
The couple spoke of their pride at greeting the royal visitor. “The King said he had seen the clip of the documentary, and he thought the two of us were very brave people,” John said. “I asked would he mind doing me a favour; he said, “certainly, what is it?’ I asked if he would give Agnes a hug.”
The resulting embrace was captured by media outlets from across the country. Agnes said: “I froze! It was such a big hug. I got very emotional over it, because I was just coming up towards the end my treatment for breast cancer – [the King] has went through a cancer journey as well, and in that moment I just thought, it really was so lovely.”
Before he left, the King Charles used sign language to thank the couple. “That made our day,” John added. “It was the proudest day of our lives, meeting the King – he’s a lovely man.”