7 Irish language creators to follow to improve your Gaeilge

You will often hear Irish people talking about their cúpla focal, usually meaning the few words of Irish they can confidently use in conversation or drop into a sentence. Even if they aren’t fluent, there is a grá (love) for the Irish language there, shining through.

Whether you’re learning Irish from scratch or looking to brush up what you already have, exposing yourself to more Irish language content is always helpful. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up 7 Instagram accounts for Irish language learners to follow. From podcasters to presenters, these Irish language creators make talking trí Ghaeilge (through Irish) accessible on the daily.

Mollie Guidera - @irishwithmollie

Mollie Guidera is one of the leading gaeilgeoir (Irish speaker) creators promoting the Irish language and challenging her followers to integrate some Gaeilge into their daily lives.

Mollie started her account back in 2022 and since then has built a community of over 200k followers. Mollie shares tips, grammar points, and topics and also offers language courses if you’re looking for something

You might also like: Mollie Guidera contributed insights to our article Technology is fuelling a global Irish language revival

Cúán de Búrca - @cuan.deburca

Cúán de Búrca is a radio presenter, media freelancer, poet, stand-up comedian, and most importantly, a gaeilgeoir (Irish speaker).

Cúán promotes the use of Irish through his poetry, art and discourse as well as posting his day-to-day activities on tiktok ‘as Gaeilge’. Learn how to do everything from check your outfit to narrate a day in your life from Cúán, who believes anything we do as Bearla (in English), we can do in Irish.

Valerie Mullen - @muinteoirvalerie

Valerie Mullen is a primary school teacher who has been teaching for over ten years, including teaching the Irish language in her classroom daily. Although currently teaching senior infants (age 5-6) in school, online Valerie offers resources, tips and blog posts for teaching a range of different classes. Muinteoir Valerie has over 20k followers on her Instagram and publishes blogs on her website.

How to Gael - @howtogael

How to Gael is the Ireland’s number one bilingual podcast. Hosted by broadcasters @doireannníghlacáin, @louisecantillon and @síomhaníruairc, the podcast has a cult following for how it represents and normalises the Irish language through free-flowing chats between the friends.

The podcast highlights how people can enjoy and speak Irish regardless of their level of fluency, very much following the ideals expressed in the old Irish seanfhocail: “Is fear Gaeilge briste, ná Béarla cliste.” (Broken Irish is better than clever English)

Molly Nic Céile - @gaeilge_i_mo_chroi

Molly Nic Céile is a Donegal-born gaeilgeoir promoting the use of the Irish language from New York City.

Molly has written a book on loving and living the Irish language, called ‘Gaeilge i mo Chroí’ (Irish in my heart), has created a range of Irish language apparel, and posts weekly videos on YouTube, speaking as gaeilge (in Irish) and promoting other ways to merge Irish into your daily life.

Cúpla Focal - @cuplafocal_

If you’re looking for a daily reminder to practice your Irish, or a way to pick up some new vocabulary as Gaeilge while you’re scrolling, @cuplafocal_ is the account you should follow.

Cúpla Focal posts daily words and phrases you may not already know, that you can sprinkle into your conversations. Often with timely posts depending on the weather or events of the day, Cúpla Focal will keep your lexicon up to date, as you weave your Gaeilge into your daily life.

Kitty Ni Houlihan - @kittynihoulihan

Kitty Ní Houlihán is an Irish speaking drag queen who posts queer drag content through Irish and English, and promotes the Irish language and Irish culture.

Kitty posts on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, using drag to bridge the gap between the traditions of old Irish with this new modern wave.