Daniel O'Halloran
Daniel O'Halloran was 12 months old when his grandfather popped a balloon behind him to confirm his deafness, although the cause of his deafness is not known. After a thorough research and valuable advice, his parents enrolled him at The Shepherd Centre where he learnt to lip-read. It had provided him with the necessary communication tools for the remainder of his life.
Afterwards Daniel was sent to Catholic Centre for Hearing Impaired Children at Strathfield to participate in the auditory-oral program. Daniel spent rest of his childhood education at the local catholic school where he was supported all through his primary school years by a specialist teacher of the deaf who had taught him necessary skills and knowledge to cope with the vocabulary of his peers. Having his older siblings at the same school also helped.
During high school, Daniel was fortunate to have the resources of his parents and the understanding of the Headmaster of St Joseph’s College at Hunters Hill to cope with the increased responsibilities and learning demands of high school.
His early work experiences had ranged from delivery driver for Pizza Hut, delivering toys, boat-building to assisting with family accountancy practice. After receiving valuable advice from friends and family, he joined the tertiary education system and now holds a bachelor degree in Business (Accounting) from the University of Technology (UTS).
Daniel is now working as a financial controller for a construction company and he is studying Bachelor of Construction at UTS to get into property development and management. He holds a tax agent license and is a Justice of Peace.
Sports has played a big part in his life. He has represented St Joseph's College 1st XI cricket, the Australian deaf cricket team in two world cups and deaf rugby union in New Zealand 2006. He is currently an active player and committee member of Southern Cross Deaf Rugby Union. He has two wonderful hearing children with his wife Kate who is also hearing, and he cherishes his time with them.
Daniel lives by these inspiring words of Ben Sweetland - ‘Success is a journey, not a destination’.
