Irish with Mollie

• #29 Aoife Lowden - Soul retrieval

  Aoife Lowden is a guide and facilitator of courses, ceremonies, and gatherings which aim to support in building relationship rooted in land-based ancestral wisdom.Aoife works as a voice for the more-than-human world. Through story, song and healing ceremony, she weaves together ancestral wisdom and lived-mythology to bring forth an embodied experience of ancient druidic spirituality in the present moment today. Weaving the old with the new - Aoife creates spaces rooted in wild & ancient wisdom, whilst allowing the space for our emerging culture to come through and evolve. Aoife founded Leigheas Dé Danann where she weaves offerings inspired by the ancient lands of Éire and Alba, often in collaboration with her community. Aoife's own journey began with being born into a sick society, born into a council estate on the foothills of the Dublin mountains - never too far from the land but also deeply disconnected and surrounded by depression, desolation, poverty, addiction - and as a result, and a very sick community. Through this environment like a flower through the crack in the concrete, she grew to become resilient and hyper-aware of the change needed in this world - being directly impacted by the very sick and traumatised culture we have all inherited. Living in a Tír na nÓg dimension, on a pure mission, Aoife talks about repairing this world by being a guide, a catalyst for remembering who we are and how we all have this fire inside us.Onóir ollmhór caint leat, a chara - Huge honour to talk to you, friend.Go raibh míle maith agat - Thanks a millionFind Aoife on Instagram: @aoifededanannand her website: www.leigheasdedanann.com

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• #28 Dian Killian, Ph.D. on The Gaelic Effect

  Míle buíochas, mo laoch! Many thanks, my hero. Dian weaves together her experience and research from an illustrious career in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) & Transformative Coaching, an academic vocation focused on Classical Rhetoric, Applied Linguistics and Critical/Narrative Theory, and a lifelong passion for Irish Studies. Dian's Master of Philosophy degree at Trinity College, Dublin was in Anglo-Irish Literature in Cultural-Historical Contexts. Her PhD culminated in research on The Nation’s Other: The Construction of Irish National Identity in the Context of British Colonialism and Emigration. Dian has been an NVC trainer for 20 years, working with organisations such as Americorp, Cornell University, and the U.N. Development program. She co/wrote two popular NVC books, including Connecting across Differences and Urban Empathy: True Life Adventures of Compassion on the Streets of New York. She is also an award-winning writer, musician, and singer-songwriter who loves visual art and has a great talent for photography, drawing and print-making.The Irish language continues to surprise, inspire and delight Dian. Join Dian and her growing, visionary community at The Gaelic Effect where she exploresLanguage and how it impacts how we see and relate to the worldBeauty and draíocht (magic, wonder and awe)Solace, inspiration and companionship) in these liminal, uncertain timesHope for what’s possible: what we are truly capable of as human beings—at our bestFind The Gaelic Effect: How the Irish language can save the world, and the GaelStack here: https://diankillian.substack.com/Enjoy the conversation! Beir bua! (Grab victory)

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• #27: Breandán Ó Cionnaith (Gaelscoilis)

  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

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• #26 Aislinn Clarke - Film Director, Writer, Lecturer

  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

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• #25 Seán Mulrooney - Bard, singer, songwriter

  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. Launching his album at Whelan's in one month! 15th February 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

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