109/365 - Emma Ferrari Ní Chearúil, Raidió Rí-Rá Studios, Fumbally Exchange.

Dublin

17 Apr

Dare I be so cringe as to say that meeting Emma was like a breath of fresh Éire? She’s a Kildare native who attended gaelscoil but never felt truly fluent until she arrived in college. The love of the Irish language hit her like a tsunami, suddenly she was attending Irish social clubs, ordering pints as Gaeilge, and even changing her entire course to study Irish more.

She now runs Raidió Rí-Rá where she encourages all presenters to use their cúpla focal to deliver pop music to the masses. She also champions new bands to write and sing in Irish, putting on events around Ireland, including her own stage at Electric Picnic.

Emma is an Irish speaking force to be reckoned with. She’s passionate about two things, the Irish language and new Irish music and after a chat with her today I’m also buzzing about both.

On a personal note, I’ve always regretted not being the type of student who grasped Irish in school. I grew up without it completely. However, I try to make a conscious effort in my day to day to use the language more in the hopes that maybe it sticks, but I’m still seriously lacking the skills. This project (and all of my previous personal projects) have always been titled in Irish and English (with the Irish being first), I may not have the language, but I can certainly do my bit to promote and respect it.