About Us

Darren Ó Rodaigh

Darren was born and raised in Wicklow. He completed his undergraduate degree in Fiontar, DCU and his MBA in Trinity College Dublin. He started his first company while in college and that company achieved a stock exchange listing. He has been involved with lots of startups over the years and he set up Gaelchultúr in 2004. He enjoys running, cooking and has an interest in current affairs.

Eimear Ní Chinnéide

Eimear is from County Armagh. She did an undergraduate degree in Irish and French at Queen's University, Belfast and achieved first-class honours in both subjects. She did a master's degree and a doctorate in Irish in the same institution and obtained her doctorate in 2017. She was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 2016 and she spent a year teaching Irish at New York University and at Drew University, New Jersey. Eimear started working at Gaelchultúr in 2019 and has been the college's Deputy Director of Education since 2021. She loves music, reading and watching Netflix. She also loves to travel abroad.

Ellen Curtin

Ellen was born and raised in Dublin. She was awarded a first-class honours degree in her Bachelors in Irish and Journalism with DCU and a Postgraduate Diploma in Technology Commercialisation with the University of Galway. She has gained invaluable experience working on branding, content creation and digital marketing with companies in the Irish-language and tourism sectors. She enjoys traveling, painting and sea-swimming. She started working with Gaelchultúr in 2020.

Pádraig Mac Congáil

Pádraig Mac Congáil was born and raised in Derry City. He attended Queen’s University, Belfast, where he obtained a BA, MA, PhD and Postgraduate Certificates in Education. He wrote his PhD thesis on ‘Éamon de Valera, the Irish Language and Linguistic Nationalism’, before spending a year on a Fulbright scholarship teaching Irish in the United States. Pádraig is passionate about the promotion of Irish in the northwest and he spent three years working with Irish-language communities in this part of the country before joining Gaelchultúr in 2022.

Sharon Howe

Sharon is from Rosguill in north Donegal. She graduated from University College Dublin in 2020 with a degree in Irish, German and English. Sharon spent a few years working in Germany to perfect her German while she was still a student. She studied Spanish and Portuguese as electives whilst in college also. She swims in the sea everyday and loves water sports – particularly surfing. Sharon started working part-time with the college in 2018 when she was studying in Dublin, and started working full-time in June 2022.

Niamh Nic Leoid

Niamh is from Leitir Mealláin in the Conamara Gaeltacht. She earned a BA in Applied Languages (Irish, French & TESOL) from UL and an MA in Translation Studies (Irish and French) from UCC. She was awarded a PhD in Celtic Studies in 2023 from the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests include language acquisition and the sociolinguistics of Irish. Niamh has spent time teaching Irish in Ireland, Scotland and the US (Fulbright FLTA 2016). She began teaching with Gaelchultúr in 2020 and has been in her current role as Head of Course Development since 2022. Niamh enjoys cooking and eating, hill walking and travelling.

Jody Buckley-Coogan

Jody is from Cork, where he completed a BA (Irish and French) and MA (Early and Medieval Irish) in University College Cork. He was awarded a PhD from Queen’s University, Belfast in 2020 for a thesis examining the language of three sets of Middle/Early Modern Irish legal writing. Having worked in a variety of roles and industries, he began in his role with Gaelchultúr at the beginning of 2024.

Dominica Williams

Dominica is from Dublin. She was raised with Irish in a bilingual household and attended Gaelscoileanna in south Dublin. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in Drama and German she worked for ten years as an opera singer with the Irish companies Irish National Opera and Wexford Festival Opera as well as the English companies Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Opera Holland Park. She began teaching Irish four years ago and she works as an Irish teacher with Gaelchultúr now too. Dominica has a huge interest in languages, theatre, and opera, and she loves sea swimming and indoor bouldering.

Clíodhna Ní Chorráin

Clíodhna is a County Armagh native, but as a travel lover, is often found elsewhere around the world! She spent a year living and teaching English in Spain in 2017, and graduated with a first-class honours degree in Irish and Spanish from Queen’s University, Belfast in 2019. Clíodhna spent a few years working in the Irish-language television industry, before moving to the United States to spend a year teaching Irish on a Fulbright scholarship in the University of Notre Dame. Having caught the travel bug, Clíodhna decided to stay in North America after being awarded an ICUF scholarship to teach Irish in the University of Ottawa in Canada. Clíodhna has an interest in language-learning, Irish traditional music, trying out new restaurants, and thrift shopping! She joined Gaelchultúr in 2024.

Éamonn Ó Dónaill

Carmel Nic Eoin, Dónall Ó Baoill, Fionnbarra Ó Brolcháin, Muireann Ní Mhóráin