Breandán is an inspirational, rising TikTok star in the Gaeltok, who is ensuring that Gaeilge has its place on the global app. My favourite creator on Tiktok by far! He believes that the accessibility of TikTok and its high usage among our youth is key to the revitalisation of our beautiful language. He brings us right back to his school days in Athenry where he was immersed in the language in his youth and how that has had such a positive effect on his love for the language today. Breandán's energy is refreshing as he avidly believes that Irish should be spoken as a living, thriving language as opposed to getting caught up on "cruinneas" or rigid accuracy. This bilingual conversation includes acúpla focal (a couple of words) as they naturally weave through our conversation. This effortless shift between the languages is representative of Breandán's relaxed, innate approach to Irish. He speaks to me about his complicated relationship with An Caighdeán (The Standard) and how it was something he had to learn to navigate during his time in DCU studying Irish at university level. Breandán is a fun, practical advocate for Irish language but he is adamant that he is not a Garda na Gaeilge (language guard) and rather, a person who is speaking and living our language by choice. Breandán warmly reminds us, "remember - it doesn't have to be cruinn, it just has to be Irish!" Absolutely loved chatting to you, a chara! Míle buíochas! Many thanks! I encourage you all to check out Breandán on Tiktok @gaelscoilis

Aislinn and I talk about the genre of horror and its social purpose, cultural trauma that is hard to articulate, her work, her interests and the future of filmmaking in Irish. We explore the fun-loving outward face of the Irish and the inward heart which is thwarted with pain.

“A good story will always carry anyway - regardless of the language. It wasn’t a barrier to me that people would have to read subtitles”

Aislinn has just been nominated as an IFTA Rising Star! Comhghairdeas agus tuillte go maith agat! Congratulations and well-deserved.

Go raibh míle maith agat as an gcomhrá! Thanks a million for the conversation!

Find Aislinn on instagram: @thewirelessgirl

Go raibh míle, a Sheáin - Thanks a million, Seán. It was brilliant to explore these themes with you. We touch on the enlightening and awakening Gaeilge Revival in all things music, language, culture, and dúchas - a deep sense of respect and honour for heritage.

Seán Mulrooney’s shift into solo artistry represents a deeply personal evolution, blending his Irish psychedelic folk roots with universal themes of justice, empathy, and healing. Known as the frontman of Tau & the Drones of Praise, he now steps forward with his debut solo album, This Is My Prayer.  Mulrooney’s artistic achievements include winning the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Lustrum Award with his sister, Dee Mulrooney (another podcast guest I was privileged to host), for their acclaimed performance of Growler.

This new chapter began with the release of "No Two Sides" in December 2023, a haunting track addressing the Palestinian genocide. The song resonated widely, reaching No. 7 on the iTunes charts and sparking a shift in Mulrooney’s creative direction. Alongside this, he founded Ómós Records in 2023, based in Ireland, with the label’s first release being This Is My Prayer, due out February 2025.

The album emerged from a transformative period of solitude in early 2024 when Mulrooney, following a breakup, retreated to a cabin in Wicklow and wrote six songs in February. Exploring themes of love, heartache, and personal power, the album blends dense Irish folk elements with worldly and otherworldly influences, including a whimsical track about dolphins getting high on pufferfish tetrodotoxin. Recorded with longtime collaborator Earl Harvin of Tindersticks, This Is My Prayer is a spiritually charged, raw, and heartfelt embodiment of Mulrooney’s artistic growth. As he puts it, “If not now, when?”

Find Seán on instagram:

@seanmulrooneymusic

@tauandthedronesofpraise

https://www.omosrecords.com/

Tau & the Drones of Praisehttps://linktr.ee/tauandthedronesofpraise

Episode 24: Meet Ross - tour guide, culture and history content creator, podcaster

Go raibh míle maith agat, a chara! Thanks a million, friend! Bhain mé an-taitneamh as ár gcomhrá - I really enjoyed our conversation.

Episode 23: David Keoghan - Stone Lifter

Go raibh míle maith agat, a chara! Thanks a million, friend! Bhain mé an-taitneamh as ár gcomhrá - I really enjoyed our conversation. Is laoch thú - You're a legend.

Abi and I touch on the hilarious, haunting and heartwarming aspects of growing a creative business online, and her chaotic but highly productive capacity to generate ideas and transform them into sellable art and viral videos, which works seamlessly thanks to her organised, efficient other half, Audrey.

There is an increased consciousness of buying Irish, and buying from small family-run businesses and Abi and Audrey are a wonderful example of a hard-working, values-driven, compatible partners who clearly care about what they do, as do their loyal and growing customer base.

We are not only enjoying Abi's artistic output, but she is also a rising comedic star, displaying some hard and painful truths about the Irish psyche, giving the simple advice:

"The best remedy comes from the harsh Irish mother to make you pull your pants up".

Their well-known Jesus Christ calendar, which was embroiled in a scurrilous scandal (!) is a comment on vernacular. We discuss the concept of blasphemy, and the unique relationship the Irish have with humour and laughter being a gift from God.

Absolutely loved chatting to you, a chara (friend).

Míle buíochas! Many thanks :)

I encourage you all to check out www.weirdwatercolours.com for beautiful quality, funny Christmas gifts :)

@weird_watercolours on Instagram

My guest this week, Caoimhín, is a talented musician, an Irish Language advocate, a creative storyteller and a gentle soul, as his name "Caoimhín" suggests. In this soothing episode, Caoimhín takes us from his childhood all the way into his adult life where the common denominator was, and still is, music. He is a gifted traditional musician and plays various instruments including the banjo, flute and fiddle. Caoimhín adores traditional Irish music and he claims he enjoyed it even when it wasn't as cool as it is today! Despite his love and respect for the music in its traditional form, he has been known to add a kick drum or a sub base to ancient Irish songs as seen in his latest single, Bímse féin ag iascaireacht. The complex layer of trance and dance which he adds to the music has allowed him to preserve Irish music while adding to it, which he believes is a beautiful way to modernise and have fun with traditional components of our music. Caoimhín is a Gaeilgeoir but highlights the importance of lifelong learning and even shares some innovative tips and tricks on how to practise and incorporate the language into everyday life. This episode is not to be missed - I thoroughly enjoyed my chat with Caoimhín. Be sure to follow Caoimhín on Instagram at @caoimhinceol to keep up to date with his latest projects. Go raibh míle maith agat, a chara - Thank you, friend. Ba mhór an pléisiúr é - It was a great pleasure!

#20 Ryan Dixon - Lakota Name: Taṡuƞka Wakiƞyaƞ Watogla (Wild Thunder Horse) is an inspiring Native American Educator and Indigenous Language Activist who has been teaching and coaching the Dakota Language since 2012. He has co-founded C̣aƞṡayapi Waḳaƞyeża Owayawa Oti- Lower Sioux Headstart and Early Headstart and drives the language movement forward with his community projects, leadership teams, competitions and innovative educational development. We talk about language loss, the revitalisation projects underway, the current status of Lakota and Dakota, colonisation, decolonisation, and hope for the future.

Eimear is Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. She is a Storyteller and a Psychologist. She has a deep love of the ancient Irish tales and has a passion for storytelling. In this conversation we talk about the healing power of nature, Eimear's earth-based exploration, her growing community, thin places and thin times.

Eimear loves to weave in song and the harp into her stories. She particularly enjoys showing people the sacred sites of Ireland and telling the ancient tales right where they happened.

Eimear has private practice as a Counselling Psychologist and her interests in Druidry and psychology have led her to act as a Celebrant, helping people to design and enact meaningful rites of passage.

She is licensed to perform legal weddings in the Republic of Ireland and can also offer non legal ceremonies.

Eimear is also a Priestess dedicated to Danú in the Fellowship of Isis. She is an Arch Druidess in the Druid Clan of Dana and a member of the Noble Order of Tara.

Enjoy! Bain taitneamh as :)

Thanks a million, Eimear - Go raibh míle maith agat, a Eimear!

www.kilkennydruidry.com

www.druidry.org/

eimear_burke_druid on instagram

Kevin Whelan is one of Ireland's most widely published scholars, and a professor at the University of Notre Dame Dublin, having lectured at top universities all over the world and worked on over 20 books.

Kevin was also the historical advisor to the Irish Government on the Famine and the 1798 Rebellion.

His articulate and expansive reflections on the ecocidal agenda of the Irish Famine are illuminating and sobering. We discuss the project of imperalism and globalisation, and how Ireland was an early ethnocidal experiment, which has affected Ireland to such an extent we could have talked for days.

"We live with a degree of post traumatic disorder. And what kind of country is it that some people think it's totally fine to denigrate the national langauge, or even think that being monolingual is superior to being bilingual!?"

Go raibh míle maith agat, a chara - Thanks a million, friend. It was such an honour to talk to you and learn from you, Kevin.