{"id":345122,"date":"2026-03-14T01:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T01:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/345122\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T01:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T01:10:12","slug":"theres-no-use-learning-irish-if-you-dont-care-what-happens-to-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/345122\/","title":{"rendered":"‘There\u2019s no use learning Irish if you don\u2019t care what happens to Ireland’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Doireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in: It all started on a night out. We were sitting in 777 having what were very expensive spicy margaritas \u2014 delicious, but definitely expensive \u2014 and the three of us were just chatting. We were talking about Irishness, about language, about culture, and about the kinds of conversations we felt weren\u2019t really happening in Irish media in the way we wanted them to.<\/p>\n

\n Louise Cantillon: The whole thing was authentically rooted in our love of Irish culture. It wasn\u2019t that we sat down with a business plan or anything like that. It was just a reflection of who we were as three pals. We had all been working in Irish media in different ways, and we had this shared appreciation for the Irish language and culture, but also for the kind of conversations we were having between ourselves. At some point, we realised that if we were enjoying those conversations this much, maybe other people would too.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: On paper, we probably should have been in competition with each other. We were all working in Irish media, trying to get gigs, trying to build careers. That industry can be very competitive, especially when you\u2019re starting out. But what actually happened with the three of us was the opposite. Once you take that competitive strain away and you start supporting each other instead, something shifts. Suddenly you\u2019re not guarding ideas or opportunities \u2013 you\u2019re building something together.<\/p>\n

\"HowHow To Gael’s guest edit of Weekend is on shelves Saturday, March 14<\/p>\n

\n Louise: There\u2019s something really powerful about what can come from friendship and collaboration. When you\u2019re not trying to compete with each other all the time, you create space for something else. That\u2019s what How to Gael came from.<\/p>\n

\u00c1R DTEANGA (OUR LANGUAGE)<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: What is a language? For me, a language is an outlook on life. When you come to life through the lens of the English language, you have one experience of the world. When you come to life through the lens of Irish, it\u2019s very different. The way you think, the way you express yourself, the way you understand certain things, all of that shifts.<\/p>\n

The podcast was never meant to replicate what already exists. There\u2019s some incredible Irish-language media out there already. Raidi\u00f3 na Gaeltachta is fantastic, and there are brilliant Irish-language programmes across different platforms. But How to Gael isn\u2019t really an Irish-language podcast in that sense. It\u2019s for the person who maybe can\u2019t access that. It\u2019s for the person who feels a bit intimidated by it, or who feels like their Irish isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n

We sometimes describe it as a gateway drug.<\/p>\n

\"LouiseLouise Cantillon and Doireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in will explore the question of a United Ireland in their next project. Picture Nina: Val @nvksocial<\/p>\n

\n Louise: A lot of people in Ireland have Irish but don\u2019t feel confident using it. They\u2019re afraid of getting something wrong or sounding silly. What we try to do is make it less intimidating. It\u2019s very normal to just \u2018caith isteach\u2019 \u2014 to throw in a word or two here and there. That\u2019s actually how a lot of people speak.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: You just have to be ballsy about it.<\/p>\n

AN TONN POLATA\u00cdOCHTA (THE POLITICAL WAVE)<\/p>\n

\n Louise: It\u2019s a privilege to talk about the Ireland and the Irish language we would love to experience, but we also have to acknowledge that there\u2019s a big, long road ahead of us if we want that to become a reality.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: It\u2019s all well and good to talk about a cultural revival, but not if nobody can afford to live here. People come to Ireland for the language, for the culture, for the traditional music. They want to experience these things authentically. We have great tourist attractions like The Cliffs of Moher, Br\u00fa na Boinne etc that gives us a window into our past. In the Gaeltacht we have a living breathing organism that preserves and furthers this culture, our most valuable commodity maybe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"DoireannDoireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in: ‘The podcast was never meant to replicate what already exists.’ Picture: Nina Val @nvksocial<\/p>\n

Its becoming increasingly difficult for these communities to survive. Unless we make a drastic change there wont be any Gaeltacht communities and there certainly wont be any cultural communities left in our cities and villages as its getting harder and harder for creatives to live here.<\/p>\n

We have a horrific housing crisis that feels like it\u2019s never going to end. And it affects everything about how people live. Who wants to live at home in their twenties and well into their thirties? People should be out building lives, making mistakes, figuring things out.<\/p>\n

But a lot of people can\u2019t do that anymore. They can\u2019t have parties, they can\u2019t hang out with their friends all day, they can\u2019t just exist in the way people in their twenties should be able to. There\u2019s this whole stage of life that people are missing out on.<\/p>\n

\n Louise: NUIG is talking about scaling back its arts degree and this is a direct result of the housing crisis. An arts degree is less attractive to students now because of the current economic climate they need a direct path into employment. NUIG was always such a strong place for the Irish language. It was known for being a bilingual campus where people could really immerse themselves in the language. So what does that tell us about the future of our language and the standard of education we can offer people here?<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: When I was in college in Galway I was paying \u20ac300 a month in rent and that allowed me to go on and do a MA and a PhD. People can\u2019t afford that kind of experience anymore. You start to wonder what that means long-term.<\/p>\n

What kind of adults are we going to produce in twenty years\u2019 time if people never get the chance to have those formative experiences?<\/p>\n

\n Louise: I think it\u2019s really important for our generation to be politically engaged. We can\u2019t just sit back and assume things will sort themselves out.<\/p>\n

A podcast is our form of art from week to week. And like any art form, it reflects the world you\u2019re living in.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: CMAT made a really good point recently. She said that art is political. And she\u2019s absolutely right. There\u2019s no use in going back and learning the Irish language and then not giving a fuck about what happens to Ireland.<\/p>\n

\n Louise: Our Catherine Connolly interview was a real How to Gael highlight. Cool is such a gammy word, but it did feel cool. It was one of those moments where you suddenly realise that something which started very casually has grown into something people are actually paying attention to.<\/p>\n

\"PresidentialPresidential candidate Catherine Connolly appearing on How to Gael podcast with hosts S\u00edomha N\u00ed Ruairc and Louise Cantillon<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: I think there was a sense that younger people were actually engaging with what she was saying in a way that felt quite fresh. It felt like a real young person\u2019s vote. There was energy there that maybe people hadn\u2019t expected.<\/p>\n

\n Louise: We were mentioned in the RT\u00c9 documentary about it, and I remember thinking \u2014 isn\u2019t it amazing what a year can bring? A year earlier, we were just having conversations between ourselves, and suddenly we\u2019re part of this bigger cultural moment. This is where our United Ireland series grew from. We\u2019re interested in having these conversations and our listeners are interested in having them too. To have sat down with the president of Ireland and now to get to sit down with the Taoiseach and talk about the future of Ireland is a real privilege.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: Young people are incredibly engaged when it comes to politics, culture and language. I think sometimes there\u2019s this perception that younger generations are disengaged or apathetic, but that\u2019s not what we\u2019ve seen at all. When the conversation feels relevant to people\u2019s lives, they\u2019re absolutely paying attention.<\/p>\n

AN B\u00d3THAR ROMHAINN (THE ROAD AHEAD)<\/p>\n

How to Gael\u2019s \u2018Le Geala\u00ed\u2019 live show travelled to Paris on February 20 and London on March 14.\u00a0Their\u00a0next stop is\u00a0Cork\u2019s Opera House on March 28. They will be in Killarney on April 18 and in Dublin\u2019s Ambassador Theatre on October 8.\u00a0Visit\u00a0their\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@howtogael for more\u00a0
\n \u2018How to: Unite Ireland?\u2019, a series exploring the question of a united Ireland will launch March 19. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts<\/p>\n

\n Louise: [How to Gael’s] upcoming live shows celebrate some incredible women from Irish history and culture. There\u2019s storytelling, there\u2019s music, and there\u2019s a lot of fun in it as well. It\u2019s really about celebrating being Irish and celebrating being a woman.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: [The tour name] ‘Le Gaela\u00ed’ means to have gone a little bit mad \u2014 a kind of temporary madness. But some of the most iconic women to come out of Ireland were seen as a little bit mad in their time. Women like Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor, who were speaking out about things long before people were ready to listen.<\/p>\n

So in a way, it\u2019s about reclaiming that idea \u2014 celebrating it, and using your voice.<\/p>\n

\"LouiseLouise Cantillon: ‘I think it\u2019s really important for our generation to be politically engaged.’ Picture: Nina Val @nvksocial<\/p>\n

\n Louise: On the question of a United Ireland… it\u2019s a really big question. And I think a lot of people steer clear of it because they don\u2019t want to give their opinion in case it\u2019s wrong, or because they feel like they don\u2019t know enough about it to speak confidently.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: It\u2019s a real dirty subject sometimes. And we came of age in a time when there was peace on this island, which is something we absolutely shouldn\u2019t take for granted. But now we\u2019re looking forward and asking how we can shape Ireland and make it a better place.<\/p>\n

The idea of building a new state doesn\u2019t come along very often in the history of countries. And things are so frustrating at the moment that you almost have to be optimistic about the possibility of doing something differently to get through it.<\/p>\n

\n Louise: I\u2019ve learned so much from bringing in experts. I\u2019m probably in the majority of people from the south who feel like they don\u2019t know enough about the subject. But that\u2019s exactly why we wanted to do the series. People down south really haven\u2019t got a sense of what unification would actually look like, so we\u2019re trying to start the conversation.<\/p>\n

The first episode is Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin. For us, it was important to start with someone who is right at the centre of political decision-making in Ireland. It\u2019s a chance to ask questions that a lot of people our age are curious about, but maybe don\u2019t always hear discussed in detail.<\/p>\n

\n Doireann: What surprised me most, was that there weren\u2019t really any answers. It can be overwhelming when you realise how much work there is to do. But generally, people want to make this the best country it can be. Everybody wants to dig ourselves out of this hole.<\/p>\n

A letter from your guest editors<\/p>\n

F\u00e1ilte romhaibh to our St Patrick\u2019s day special edition of Weekend magazine where we\u2019re shining a light on all things \u00c9ire. For anyone who doesn\u2019t know, we are two thirds of the popular bilingual How To Gael podcast (our third member S\u00edomha is currently on maternity leave) agus is m\u00f3r an phribhl\u00e9id d\u00fainn a bheith ag obair leis an Examiner chun an eagr\u00e1n speisialta seo a chuir i gcr\u00edoch.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re living through a very transformative period in history, not only in global politics but also in our own little island. The Irish language is front and centre in a way it hasn\u2019t been for generations and while things can become very overwhelming in the news, we have lots to
celebrate too.<\/p>\n

Our listeners are young people, men and women who want to engage with Gaeilge again but may feel intimidated. So we always describe ourselves as a gateway drug, having a mix of B\u00e9arla agus Gaeilge makes it more accessible for people who aren\u2019t confident yet in their fluency. T\u00e1imid ag iarraidh daoine a mhealladh chun na teanga le go mbeid\u00eds n\u00edos comp\u00f3rda\u00ed agus s\u00e1sta \u00ed a labhairt.<\/p>\n

A language revival is about far more than just learning words \u2014 with a language comes a viewpoint, a way to see and interact with the world. For a long time, Ireland has looked outward for our cultural cues, in this issue we hope to highlight what we can offer ourselves.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re part of a generation that has come of age during recessions and are now, as renters, increasingly demoralised by the housing crisis.<\/p>\n

As we know this housing crisis is not limited to our cities and towns but our rural areas too. It is becoming impossible for people to live in Gaeltacht areas, the living breathing organisms of our language. What use is a language and cultural revival if young people \u2014 the future of a language \u2014 can\u2019t afford to live here, buy houses or raise families? In 2026, our language has grown beyond something that is only found in Gaeltacht areas, t\u00e1 pobal na Gaeilge scaipthe ar fud an domhain agus ar fud na h\u00c9ireann. All through urban Ireland communities are embracing her \u2014 but how do we protect these communities? There are solutions to these problems, we just need to shout loud enough!<\/p>\n

Despite those challenges, this is
an incredibly exciting moment in Ireland. We have an abundance of talent on the world stage, we have
a young energetic and educated workforce, and a renewed sense of self that will be integral in pushing forward and developing our future.<\/p>\n

T\u00e1 ana chuid ag tarl\u00fa go bhfuilimid mar th\u00edr ana mh\u00f3r\u00e1lach as. This issue is a celebration of that. T\u00e1imid ag s\u00fail go m\u00f3r leis an todhca\u00ed Gaelach at\u00e1 amach romhainn.<\/p>\n

Beir bua, Doireann agus Louise<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doireann N\u00ed Ghlac\u00e1in: It all started on a night out. We were sitting in 777 having what were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,1693,60,43],"class_list":["post-345122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-insight","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}