Irish With Mollie – part 1

For 250,000 people on social media, Irish With Mollie will need no introduction. Mollie is an educator who has taught Irish and English and designed an online course that she believes is suitable for all kinds of learners. Mollie is a major presence on Instagram and TikTok and is a passionate believer in working towards a bilingual Ireland where there is greater equality for the Irish language.

Irish Language Matters (ILM): Why does the Irish language matter?

Mollie: I think it matters because language is culture and they are fite fuaite interwoven together. In terms of understanding our identity, our heritage, our landscape, who we are as a people, why we think the way we do, why we feel the way we do, why we laugh and connect – it is so integral to the way we speak and how that has affected our mind-set as Irish people – and our way of living; and the memory of the Irish people, and the spirit and the soul of the Irish people.

So, for example, somebody recently brought to my attention a guy on the radio going ‘’The only language I care about is the one that my paycheque is in”. It’s like, wow, lightbulb moment. You think it’s just a means of communication. You think it’s just words.  It’s not just words. That’s just a tiny bit of what the language is.

There is a world in the words that – if you root yourself in that, it’s a healing and revealing journey and, to lose the language means the loss of knowledge, wisdom, history, connection and you know…touching on like you said the psychology or the psyche, the Irish psyche I think reconnecting, rethinking and revitalising Irish can be a very soothing and healing practice for people because Ireland deals with all these postcolonial issues and societal issues: violence, domestic abuse, alcoholism, substance abuse. And I really believe that if people understood who they were and where they came from and … a lot of people report feelings of freedom and self-understanding when they are learning Irish and they say “I feel pure. I feel like a better person. I feel kinder. I feel nicer. I feel happier” and it brings all these feeling of wellbeing and fulfilment as well. So, I could go on all day but I think it matters so deeply to us – and to anyone that learns, because it really does give you a new lens and perspective on reality. 

ILM: This is a loaded question. Feel free to pass. I’ve heard you say before that the Irish language movement aspires to buildings towards a (more) bilingual Ireland – and I would certainly subscribe to that – and we know the future of Irish is uncertain, right? So, in Wales, they’re much more assertive in asking for supports and recognition for their language journey or their language reclamation. So, the question at the end of that is, do we need to be more assertive in Ireland?

Mollie: Absolutely. I think there are very simple and effective techniques that can be put into practice like subtitles in Irish and English, and the choice and the option available to people. Subtitles would make a massive difference. I think there’s already been a lot done and that’s impressive and very much appreciated like you’re on the dart or the bus, you see way more Irish now in the past 30 years. You see ads in Irish – and only in Irish, which is very interesting – a huge surge in that, people just growing their confidence.

But in terms of the Government investing and the school system and the Department of Education investing in the language. There are some very simple and effective things that they’re just not doing, and they’re not even expensive to do. I think completely revamping the education system; making it more fun; you know, not giving exemptions for these stupid reasons. Anyone can learn and it’s not about being an exam subject. That really associates the language with stress and pressure.

I think the Irish education system is very academic and people and people are forced into thing that they might not naturally want to do. You know this “Oh, this school is great because they sent all their students to university”. Not everyone wants to go to university. I think there should be more of an emphasis on loving what you do and enjoying it and, because it’s our ancestral, endangered, native, official, indigenous language, a different emphasis need to be put on it. But yeah, I think in terms of putting pressure on the Government to say “This is important to people”. And actually, people don’t even realise how important it is to them. It’s like when the road signs in Belfast were put in recently, people were complaining “But only a quarter of the people can understand these signs”, it’s like, that’s not the point. Irish was never given a chance so of course people will say “Irish was boring at school, so let’s get rid of it” instead of “How can it be loved?” and it needs to be loved and the pride needs to grow in order for people to invest in it and promote it and nurture it.

ILM: You’ve spoken before about the healing qualities of Irish, can you tell me a little about that?

Mollie: An obvious in-way to that could be that feelings are on us and that recognition is very moving for people, and that kind of consciousness that feelings do not define us and that they are fluid, transient, impermanent, fleeting; and how the Irish language has this acknowledgment of feelings being on us and desires being on us and even sickness being on us and coming free from even Cancer or things like this.

The way we word something is so, so important to how we think about something. Even like in English we might say a woman goes into labour when she’s giving birth, but in Irish the verb would be éascaigh, to ease. If you think of easing, you might to think “Oh, I need to breathe” and giving birth is about an opening, an expansiveness and that’s so beautiful. So, I think it really shines a light on different ways that we think. It’s a very humorous and tender language and people really connect with that.

I also think it’s a great way to reflect on people we love. A lot of people like yourself with your grandparents, and my Nana was a Gaeilgeoir and really had a passion for lifelong learning, and loved the language dearly. And I do think I’m connecting with her in everything I learn. You know, I’m still learning a lot. And when I make my videos I think I’m speaking to her. In a way I would have liked to have spoken with her more but recently I’m thinking that’s the kind of regret a lot of Irish people live with too. It should be, turn your regrets into goals. If we want to hear more Irish spoken, speak more Irish.

The healing nature of it I think a lot of people feel that it reduces anxiety as well, that it is proven that languages boost your discipline, concentration, memory, self-esteem, and there’s a certain eudaimonic happiness that is the opposite of going for drink or drugs or a quick fix, bingeing on a bag of biscuits. It’s more like you challenge yourself, you’re stretching your brain, you’re absorbing and you have breakthroughs and you realise “Wow, I can do it!” Like, the joy you feel when you’re able to understand something new and you’re growing and that self-progress is so incredible. And people really feel that. People feel so well learning Irish. Not only because it’s learning a language or having a hobby for some people, but it’s identity, heritage, growth, connection with ancestry, family and doing something that’s very noble as well – keeping an endangered language alive and prospering.

ILM: I remember Dáithí Ó Sé jokingly saying he’s in it for the money when people ask “Why are you into Irish?”, but he was making the wider point that it is important that people don’t entirely dismiss Irish on the basis of not having utility when there are more careers available in Irish and more educational opportunities than ever before (since Independence).

One thing I’ve noticed is I’ve never seen a bad word said about the English language industry in Ireland, because, presumably, people are attaching some kind of economic value to that. Does criticism of the Irish language industry originate in postcolonial attitudes do you think?

Mollie: Do you mean how somebody might criticise me for making money on the language, and they do sometimes. They might say, “Oh, if you love your language so much you should teach it for free”.

ILM: I’ve seen some quotes that were in the media from around the time TG4 (then TnaG) was set up, and it was like “These Nationalist Irish-speaking nutters in the West”, “Jobs for the boys” kind of attitude. Totally dismissive, as if it (Irish) has no value and it’s kind of an in-joke for an in-crowd to keep money for this narrow Nationalist stream within society. But you don’t see any comment like that in relation to anybody that is making any kind of money from the English language, and there are tonnes of people making money from the English language – so many English language schools in Dublin, and so on. I think there’s a major hypocrisy there in attitudes towards Irish speakers making money from Irish versus English speakers making money from English.

Mollie: Definitely, yeah I would agree with you and I think if people get something for free they don’t value it. It’s like, you know, the Irish education system. Irish is a compulsory subject. It’s free, and they’re not even investing in training the teachers better, creating a new syllabus, a new curriculum, making something that’s more interactive – you know, opening up new opportunities. It seems like a lot of people working in the Irish language industry do it – I think everyone does it out of the goodness of their heart. And if they’re able to create a product that is valuable and people want, great.

I don’t think there’s too much negativity around it. I think people can be bitter though, or people can be jealous. I think there’s so much resentment around the language in general that people feel that they can’t learn it for some reason or, that it’s too difficult or it’s not for them. What I’m doing is clearly very accessible and available. Of course I have loads of free materials and paid courses too, but I’m glad that I come from the approach that, you know, anyone can learn. It’s not a closed community at all. It’s very open and very welcoming.

Hopefully those attitudes are changing. There were studies done recently that have shown that Irish is shown to be good for business, and to celebrate the Irish language in the workforce brings great profits. Like even giving a euro off if you order in Irish for example. You see a lot of restaurants named in Irish or brands are starting to use the Irish language in their marketing. I think it really works. I think there’s a zeitgeist at the moment or a cachet with the Irish language that is undeniable.

Neurodivergence and Learning Irish

ILM: Do you think that online learning is suitable for people that are neurodivergent?

Mollie: Definitely. A lot of my community are neurodivergent and they say that they haven’t found resources that really work for them in this way. I was Disability Officer in Trinity. My brother has Downs Syndrome and my Mum was a teacher and maybe those influences in my life…I really enjoy explaining things in an extremely clear way and I don’t think it benefits people only with learning needs. I think it really benefits any type of learner. Even people that are your standard straight A student who grasps things very quickly because I think what people really need is recall and usage.

I got the Cambridge DELTA after graduating – that’s an English language qualification to teach English as a foreign language – but that was fundamental in my approach to building these courses. It really empowered me to create something that’s very focused on the learner mind-set. So when you think of kinaesthetic learners, visual learners, auditory learners, you have to kind of incorporate that into a lesson – people who learn better with movement, people who learn better with graphics, with colour, people who need something in their hands so they can print it off, or people who need things slowed down or sped up, or listen to it again and again. I’m really glad that that works because I feel it’s very unfair for people with different learning needs to feel that Irish doesn’t cater for them. And even the foundation level, it’s nearly patronising. I think it is patronising. When I was at school anyway, the pass level was like a page with words that are Latin based or come from English even and it’s just so easy to guess – anyone could do it – instead of actually teaching and challenging the student and helping them grow and learn what they’re using. I think it’s absolutely great that on the one hand things are more available to people with different learning needs and they’re able to really make progress. A lot of my students say “I thought I was bad at languages” or “I thought I couldn’t learn, but I’m so happy that this is my language too and I’m able to learn it”. It’s not shut off for certain people.

ILM: You reminded me of Des Bishop saying in the exam he had to match the word aerfort with a picture of an airport!

You get some people saying “I can speak English and I’m comfortable learning French, German, but I just can’t master Irish”. Do think that if people can master one language they can master – or at least have a fair shot at – any other language?

Mollie: Yeah. And I think if people think they’re bad at languages, they’re not. They just haven’t found the method, motivation or mind-set that works. People really limit themselves in a massive way. I do it with things I don’t like or haven’t been taught well to me. I think a teacher does make a massive difference, and having a community accountability, coaching, support, and a reasoning and you know, just opening it up to make it really engaging. Like you said, the Irish you’re learning, the reasons you’re learning connect with you, like the way it might not have in school. You might have seen that as a subject, and as a bit of a bore, and Peig and all that. And now you’re like “This is a way of life. This is a joy. This is a beautiful world full of wisdom that’s always feeding me, in a way”.

The Uniqueness of @IrishWithMollie

ILM: With the #100DaysofGaeilge going on at the moment, what’s different about classes with Mollie versus other classes?

Mollie: I haven’t tried all classes so I can’t say with certainty but my students say that things are really explained very clearly and broken down in a way that is memorable and meaningful and relevant. You’re provided with opportunity to use the language. So, I have a 24/7 Zoom Room, weekly live lessons, and regular meet-ups, and a telegram group with over 3,000 students, so people are chatting away non-stop and they get my daily support.

So, not many courses offer that level of engagement where you can talk to your teacher every day if you want, and a community of like-minded students where you’re all connected, having the craic, encouraged, y’know guided, like I love correcting – and I love self-correction as well – and I think people really feel interested. They’re not left in the dark. They have access to all the materials for life. So, they can log in anytime, day or night. It’s self-paced. They can go back, review, refresh. There’s hundreds of exercises, quizzes, notes and summaries, study plans, so, it’s very flexible to fit in with their own schedule or busy lives. And I think giving them tasks in every area: reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, pronunciation, dialect, vocabulary. They’re really provided with all the tools they need. And it’s like you are given everything you need for your success. They’re not wanting for anything and I’m creating more materials all the time. So, it’s a very abundant and lively experience.        

ILM: It sounds like you’ve created a wonderful community, and I hope you get some time off from it! It must be very demanding on your time and energy.

Mollie: Yeah. It is. It’s obviously a labour of love. It doesn’t feel like work most of the time, it’s so fun and I’m always learning so I’m really fascinated sometimes I go on deep dives into etymology and sharing it with my students. There’s so much about the language that really comes alive the deeper you get into it. And things that we might take for granted as well. When I was at school, we never really knew what ‘go raibh maith agat’ meant. We knew it meant ‘thank you’ but we didn’t know that go raibh is the subjective and ‘may goodness be at you’ or forgive me ‘Tabhair maithiúnas dom’, ‘give me goodness’. These are really special, memorable phrases and I think they shine a light on a mind-set and a way of thinking and a community. That’s so beautiful. But in terms of time-off, that is challenging at times to switch off, or to delegate or think about not working so much. But it’s good.   

ILM: Can you quantify an increase over time in interest from learners? There is, in the mainstream, a building sense that Irish is in the zeitgeist at the moment. Would you see that in demand for Irish language courses from yourself?

Mollie: Yeah. So, I started Irish with Mollie two-and-a-half years ago. I was teaching one-to-ones before that on Zoom, and there it was very easy to quantify over the pandemic. I was teaching on italki – which is another great place to look for an Irish teacher to be fair – if I opened 24/7 I would be teaching 24/7 – it was that much demand, and then I started Irish With Mollie to reach more people. For example, my recent launch was January and that had the highest intake so far, so you really see numbers building. The one before that was Black Friday. So, there’s huge demand and always growing and I think technology democratising the language and, like you see on TikTok, young people using the language. So, I’m there teaching it, and that can only go so far. People need to know that it is a living language as well. Look at the Gaeltok on TikTok. Young people and old, using Irish every day: outfit of the day or come on holiday with me, a day in the life, or a cookery thing in Irish. It’s amazing and that kind of legitimises the rest of the sphere – that it’s on radio because of this. It’s on the TV because of this. It’s being taught because of this. It’s a living language and worth looking after. It is easy to see with the growth of different influencers and you see comedians doing shows in Irish and writers like Hector bringing out a new book recently, so it’s brilliant. 

____________________________________________________________

Foilsithe Feabhra 2025

Buíochas ó chroí le Mollie agus beidh cuid 2 anseo go luath!

Thanks from the heart to Mollie and part 2 will be here soon!