Molly Nic Céile, founder of ‘Gaeilge i mo chroí’
Molly is from Letterkenny, County Donegal. She was not raised with Irish but she had a passion for it at school and did well in the subject. A few years after school, she missed Irish. At the same time, she wanted to start a YouTube channel after studying media production and acting. It occurred to her to make videos about the Irish language. She wanted to share her knowledge with others and create videos, which she really enjoyed. On November 9, 2019, she posted her first video on YouTube, “How to start speaking Irish” and today, it has been viewed by over 770 thousand people. She has made 258 videos to date, videos in which she teaches Irish, shares her daily life through Irish, talks to others in Irish, etc.
Molly started teaching private online Irish classes in December 2020. She has students from all over the world at all levels. She now has almost 5 years of teaching experience.
She continued to study and improve her own Irish and her teaching skills. She attended an Intensive Course in Written Irish with Gaelchultúr/Coláiste na hÉireann in early 2022. She attended a language course at Oideas Gael in October 2022. She obtained a University Certificate (Level 6) in Irish Language Teaching from Maynooth University in 2023. She began teaching Irish at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan, New York in April 2024. She published her first book ‘Gaeilge i mo chroí: Your Guide to Loving and Living the Irish Language’ in September 2024. This book won the Irish Book Award in the Lifestyle Book of the Year category 2024.
She is currently writing another book and is focused on providing more opportunities to speak Irish in Ireland and abroad.
Briana Ní Loingsigh, Graphic Designer and Language Coach
Briana is originally from New Jersey but has lived in New York for 14 years. She graduated from Parsons The New School for Design in 2015 with a degree in Communication Design and was awarded Magna Cum Laude. She worked as a graphic designer in the theatre industry for 11 years and has won four Graphis awards for poster design. Today, she designs the products available on gaeilgeimochroi.com, the website itself as well as the course materials.
In 2020, Briana began learning Irish because she has Irish heritage. Her father’s family was from Cavan. She attended Irish classes at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan and during the pandemic she continued to study online, read books in Irish, and attend Irish language events.
In July 2022, she went to Glenfin in Donegal for a week, to attend a language course with Oideas Gael. She undertook many challenges to improve her Irish including listening and writing challenges. Between September and December 2023, she attended the Intensive Course in Written Irish with Gaelchultúr. In May 2024, the organization ‘Daltaí na Gaeilge’ awarded her a fáinne óir, which recognizes the speaker’s fluency.
In November 2024, Briana started her own blog on Substack. The blog is called ‘Foghlaimeoir’. She writes about the life lessons she has learned while learning languages. She also gives advice and support to people learning Irish.
In 2023, Briana started learning Polish. She also has Polish heritage and her mother’s parents spoke Polish. So she has always been curious about the language. She attends classes every week and will be going to Poland for the first time in October 2025 to improve her Polish and see the country.