Mollie Guidera: This Language Is Ours
A language returned Mollie Guidera returns to the Irish Stew for a second conversation. Since her first appearance in November 2023, she has published The Gaeilge Guide and grown Irish with Molly into the fastest-growing Gaeilge community in the world — more than 10,000 students across 75 countries. But what Mollie is really doing is harder to quantify: dismantling the barriers that sit between Irish people and their own language. The problem was never the language Fourteen years of compulsor...
A language returned
Mollie Guidera returns to the Irish Stew for a second conversation. Since her first appearance in November 2023, she has published The Gaeilge Guide and grown Irish with Molly into the fastest-growing Gaeilge community in the world — more than 10,000 students across 75 countries. But what Mollie is really doing is harder to quantify: dismantling the barriers that sit between Irish people and their own language.
The problem was never the language
Fourteen years of compulsory classes, taught through the very language you were trying to learn, left a generation feeling guilty for failing at something that was never properly taught. Mollie's argument is simple: the language is logical, patterned, and far more learnable than people believe. The problem was always the delivery.
Hidden in plain sight
We spend time on Hiberno English — the way Irish survives in everyday speech. "Is the dinner not ready yet?" Nobody in America says that. Say it in Irish and it makes perfect grammatical sense. From Wilde to Joyce to Sally Rooney, the Irish literary tradition is Hiberno English in action — a colonized people turning the language of their oppressor into a thing of beauty.
The key holder
The episode carries the presence of Manchán Magan, who passed away last year. Mollie recalls asking Manchán for advice on a documentary about her offshore students — Hong Kong, Moscow, Alaska — and his reply coming back immediately: go for it. His wife's words at the Irish Book Awards said it best: Manchán opened the door and showed us all the way through. We just have to walk.
The language is yours
Fluency is a myth. What matters is showing up consistently, with curiosity, and without shame. The language is yours. It always was.
Episode Quote
"People have this negative reaction to Irish — and yet this regret for not learning it. There's a very complicated relationship. But I don't think the language itself is complicated."
— Mollie Guidera
Links
Mollie Guidera
- Website: Irish With Mollie
- Book: The Gaeilge Guide
- Podcast: Irish with Mollie
- TikTok
Irish Language Resources
- TEG: Irish Language Certification
- An Siopa Leabhar - Irish Language Book Store
All Irish Stew Irish Language Episodes - Ten episodes. All in one place.
Irish Stew Links
Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 11; Total Episode Count: 152
00:00 - Introduction
01:53 - The Gaeilge Guide
04:42 - Being Irish and the Language - An Teanga
09:33 - Delivering Irish Language Education
19:07 - Being a Gaeilgeoir
23:43 - Setting Gaeilge Goals
29:38 - Understanding Hiberno English
39:06 - Manchán Magan's Legacy
44:59 - The Fallacy of Irish Language Difficulty
51:46 - Mollie - Future Projects
54:44 - Martin Recap
56:07 - Credits
Irish Language Innovator
“I taught my first Irish lesson to my American cousin, aged 7. I was aged 7! It was at a Thanksgiving dinner at home in Dublin, and while she shared her feast, I shared our native language.
“I attended Irish college in the Gaeltacht every summer and became Head Girl in my coláiste (college). That was after being kicked out for saying one sentence in English. It was a very strict place. But the immersion worked!
“I travelled around the world, got the Cambridge certificate in teaching, and taught English, before realising what energised me most is immersing myself in the Irish language. I used my skills learning other languages to break down Irish in a way my Irish peers and international students had never been exposed to, and started becoming extremely busy teaching people from all over the world on Zoom.
“People are in love with Ireland and our language, and I wanted to share this motivation and excitement with newcomers and people who grew up traumatised by learning Irish!
“I was completely booked out, and I realised that I wanted to help even more students, and that’s why I started making online courses.
“So far, I am very proud to say that I have helped more than 10,000 students from 75 different countries, and I want to continue to spread the language to everyone who loves it or loves Ireland!
“My mission is to continue to spread my love for the Irish language to as many people as possible worldwide!”
