'I'm a queer, drag queen, GAA player. I came out of the closet in Irish long before I did in English'

With Seachtain na Gaeilge kicking off on March 1, we’d like to introduce you to three voices that are challenging our perceptions of Gaeilge and what it can mean in the Ireland of today.

Cian Ó Gríofa plays football with Ireland’s first LTBTQ+ GAA club, Na Gaeil Aeracha

This article is part of our Best of 2024 collection. It was originally published in February. Find more stories like this here.

What springs to mind when someone mentions Gaeilge? Does the mere utterance of a cúpla focal bring you immediately back to school-day struggles with the Módh Coinníollach or evoke memories of being bored by Peig Sayers telling tales of hardship on the Blasket Islands?