‘It’s been phenomenal’ – TikTok star ‘Barbaí na Gaeilge’

Local TikTok star Laura Pakenham aims to make the Irish language ‘accessible for all’.

Described as ‘Barbaí na Gaeilge,’ she has gained almost 11,000 followers on the video-sharing platform by posting content like skits, vlogs and make-up tutorials through the medium of Irish.

The 22-year-old grew up on the Westmeath Longford border in Lisryan, far from the Gaeltacht in Connemara where she now works with TG4 as an educational coordinator.

Laura, who also featured on Virgin Media’s Irish language dating show ‘Grá ar an Trá’ last year, had no idea a career promoting the Irish language lay ahead of her as a young girl.

“I didn’t go to a gaelscoil like a lot of fluent Irish speakers, I went to primary school in Lismacaffrey and secondary school in Granard,” she says.

“People ask me where my Irish comes from and I always like to say I have Irish by choice, not by chance, as I wasn’t born in a Gaeltacht or into an Irish-speaking family.

“To be honest, I think I have a natural tendency for languages, I picked up Spanish quite easily in secondary school and my brother is the same – he knows six languages.”

Laura says the “lightbulb moment”, when she knew the Irish language was what she wanted to pursue ,came during a trip to the Gaeltacht while in secondary school.

“I was going for the craic and wasn’t planning to be an Irish activist or anything, to be honest,” she says.

“It was the first time I saw the language as something other than a school subject.

“I realised it was a part of people’s lives and it had real-world applications outside of exams and getting points in the Leaving Cert.”

The experience led to her enrolling in the first-ever primary school teaching course taught through the medium of Irish, at the Marino Institute of Education in Dublin. “Every single word of my degree was taught in Irish,” says Laura.

“After 14 years of education through English, it was quite a shock to the system and not easy.

“I was in a less fortunate position than others there who had done their entire education up to that point in Irish; at times I felt like an outsider and thought to myself, ‘How did I get here?’

“There were wobbles when I considered swapping over to the English version of the course a few times, but I got through the four years and graduated in 2023.”

Media always had a certain allure for Laura, who swapped the classroom for a role with TG4 after college.

“I’m a coordinator of educational content with TG4 for the online learning platform, which provides resources for students, teachers, and parents to help children learn Irish,” she says

“It’s the perfect amalgamation of all things I love; I have my Gaeilge, I have my media and I also have my education.

“It’s the perfect scenario for me, all the pieces of the puzzle have really fit together and I love it.”

Laura’s TikTok account has also grown in the last two years and her videos have garnered more than a million views and hundreds of thousands of likes.

“Education is at the centre of my TikTok channel but it’s not presented as education,” she says.

“I like to place an emphasis on passive learning, trying to promote the language while combating the negative mindset people have of looking at Irish as a school subject they were stressed about and didn’t enjoy.

“I want to provide the outlook that Irish can be spoken outside the classroom; that could be a rant from me about someone skipping me in the queue in Dunnes Stores, a makeup tutorial, or recently I did a skit as an air hostess from Connemara.

“People are being exposed to informal, natural and accessible Irish through that – not an analysis of poems, literature and text like what’s done in schools.”

Laura says for the Irish language to thrive “it must exist outside of the classroom” and be used in music, film, and other forms of media.

“We also need the teaching of Irish in schools to be of a high standard, teachers have to love it, to live and breathe the language so that love transfers to students,” she says.

The local Gaeilgeoir, whose mother was born and raised in Mullingar, says featuring on the TV show Grá ar an Trá was an “eye-opening” experience for her.

“It was such a learning curve to see what goes into making a show behind the scenes,” she says.

“I loved every second of it, the on-screen and off-screen moments, it solidified things for me knowing this is the industry I want to be in. I didn’t find grá, but I found best friends who will stay with me for life.”

Another ‘pinch-me’ moment for Laura was when she was asked to speak before the Committee on the Irish Language and Gaeltacht at Leinster House earlier this month.

“I spoke about the role of social media in the promotion of the language outside Irish-speaking communities,” she says.

“It was thought-provoking and I have to tip my hat to all the politicians who were so understanding as I was nervous, as a 22-year-old, telling people to listen to my thoughts and experience.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I don’t think will ever be topped, it was absolutely phenomenal.”

Laura says to keep an ear out for more exciting projects she has lined up regarding the promotion of the Irish language.