St Patrick's Day: Armagh woman teaches Irish on Canadian TV

BBC News

17-03-2025

Teaching Irish is no problem for Clíodhna Ní Chorráin, a fluent speaker who has passed on a cúpla focal (a few words) to students from around the world.But doing it live on TV for Canada's national broadcaster ahead of St Patrick's Day? That was a real "pinch me" moment for the County Armagh woman."It's one thing to teach Irish in Canada, but to teach it on national television to the entire country – that was something else," she told BBC News NI.It came about after a CTV producer discovered her Irish language content on TikTok – and helped gain Clíodhna's work national attention.
Clíodhna's TV appearance sparked a wave of interest in learning Irish, and she received messages from viewers asking if she could teach them.She is an Irish language instructor at the University of Ottawa, and there is a waiting list for her class every year.It is all part of a growing interest in the language in Canada, which is home to the only officially sanctioned Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) outside of Ireland.With almost 15% of Canadians claiming Irish heritage, many are keen to reconnect with their roots.
"Irish belongs to everyone," she said."When you are in North America there are no political ties to the language - everyone loves it because it is cool and unique."Clíodhna's interest in Irish started in secondary school, where she instantly fell in love with it."I could not believe we had this thing that I had never heard of."After studying Irish and Spanish at Queen's University Belfast, she landed scholarships to teach Irish abroad, firstly in the US and then Canada.In Ottawa, she has taught more than 230 undergraduate students over two years.
Her students come from diverse backgrounds."I have Chinese, Arab, Indian and Australian students."It is a really mixed bag."Clíodhna says she loves to teach students in Canada the language as "they grab it with both hands and own it".
One of those students is Gabriella Moro, 23, whose great-great-grandparents have roots in Dublin and Antrim."My favourite thing about learning Irish has to be how warm, friendly, and open the community are and the pride they have in the language," she said.
Clíodhna believes the reason for the high interest in learning Irish overseas is twofold."There is a huge Irish diaspora in Canada, but many have lost the language along the way," she said."It's like a lost thread but learning the language can weave it back into their Irish identity."
Clíodhna also believes it is part of a wider global movement to reclaim indigenous and minority languages, a point that is echoed by another one of her students, Elizabeth Jerome, 23, who has both Indigenous Canadian and Irish roots."Canada is very much a melting pot of backgrounds and nationalities and reclaiming old languages is a big thing right now," Elizabeth told BBC News NI."It is surprising to see interest in the Irish language spreading and everyone I tell says: 'Wait, can I learn too?'"
Beyond university classes, Clíodhna also runs a weekly session in an Irish pub, where students range from university graduates to people in their 70s.The demand for Clíodhna's classes shows no sign of subsiding."There's no way I could teach all the people who have asked me to," she added."We just need more people to come over and teach Irish."