Irish in Toronto

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Declan O’Sullivan. You might know him better as ‘Paddyman’.  Declan is a professional entertainer and songwriter who has performed live for over 1 million people all around the world. Originally from Kildare, Declan  originally moved to Canada twenty-five years ago where he met his wife before moving to Dubai for sixteen years. Declan and his family are now back in Canada, residing in Niagara Falls, On...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Bronwyn Brennan. Bronwyn is a twenty-four-year-old writer based in Toronto. ‘The Boy From Dublin’ is her debut novel, inspired by her grandfather’s life and stories. She currently runs a small hockey school based in the city and works extensively with the girls division, concentrating her efforts on growing women’s hockey and guiding young athletes toward the collegiate level and beyond.

In this ep...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Jack Fogarty. I came to know Jack when he began hurling with my club here in Toronto, Na Piarsaigh. Jack is a laid back character who has become a feature of the Irish community here in Toronto. Jack regularly performs in Irish bars around the city. For St. Patrick’s Day in 2025, Jack managed to organise his band, The Fogues, who are still based in Ireland, to come to Toronto where they played a few gi...

Dave is founder and CFO of HAB Strategy as well as Irish Chartered Accountant Chapter Head here in the city of Toronto.

Originally from the sunny south east, Dave & his wife Mags moved here in early 2018 in pursuit of adventure. Having also travelled to South America, India, South East Asia and Eastern Africa, moving to Toronto actually marked their very first time in North America!

Getting initially settled in and particularly...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Gearóid Ó Treasaigh. Gearóid is the Irish Language Instructor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is in the middle of his second year of his ICUF scholarship. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

This is the Irish language portion of our episode. You will find the English language episode on the same feed as it was released at the same time. 

Tá súil aga...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Gearóid Ó Treasaigh. Gearóid is the Irish Language Instructor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is in the middle of his second year of his ICUF scholarship. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

In this episode, Gearóid speaks about the ICUF scholarship program which brought him to Fredericton. You will hear about how he settled in one of Canada’s smaller cities...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Shane O’Neill. I came to know Shane last year when I finally answered one of his many phone calls and he told me that I would be raising the Irish flag at Toronto City Hall on St. Patrick’s Day. Shane is the Chairperson of the Irish Person of the Year Committee and has done tremendous work for the Irish community over the years. Coming to Toronto in 1998 after having spent ten years in London Shane’s r...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Conor Mangan. Conor is a current professional American Football player based out of Toronto, as well as an accomplished Real Estate Agent.  A proud Cork man, he moved to Canada in 2013, playing professional rugby before transitioning to football. Conor earned several Special Teams and point scoring records in the last two years in the Indoor Football League (IFL), and has multiple president club awards...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Cathal O’Neill. Cathal is the Irish Language Instructor at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is in the middle of his second stint as the ICUF scholar in St. John’s. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

This is the English-language portion of our episode. The Irish-language version is located on the same feed. 

In this episode, Cathal speaks about what it was ...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Cathal O’Neill. Cathal is the Irish Language Instructor at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is in the middle of his second stint as the ICUF scholar in St. John’s. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

This is the Irish language portion of our episode. You will find the English language episode on the same feed as it was released at the same time. 

Tá súil ag...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Gemma Ní Luain. Gemma is the Irish Language Instructor at the Concordia University in Montréal, Québec. She is in the middle of her second stint as the ICUF scholar in Montréal. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

- what it was like to move to Montréal in 2019
-extreme weather Montréal receives 
- issue of language with French being the official language in Québec
-st...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Gemma Ní Luain. Gemma is the Irish Language Instructor at Concordia University in Montréal, Québec. She is in the middle of her second stint as the ICUF scholar in Montréal. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

This is the Irish language portion of our episode. You will find the English language episode on the same feed as it was released at the same time. 

Tá súil agam go mba...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Katie Kirkpatrick. Katie is from Saskatchewan but began taking beginner’s Irish with me two years ago here at the University of St. Michael’s College. Since then, she has gone on to win an ICUF Canadian Irish Language Award which enabled her to complete a four-week immersion course in Conamara in the summer of 2023. 

In this episode, Katie speaks about her motivation for learning Irish. Her co...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Clíodhna Ní Chorráin. Clíodhna is the Irish Language Instructor at the University of Ottawa. She is in the middle of her second year of her ICUF scholarship. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

This is the Irish language portion of our episode. You will find the English language episode on the same feed as it was released at the same time. 

Tá súil agam go mbainfidh sibh sult...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Clíodhna Ní Chorráin. Clíodhna is the Irish Language Instructor at the University of Ottawa. She is in the middle of her second year of her ICUF scholarship. ICUF, being the Ireland Canada University Foundation. 

In this episode, Clíodhna talks about her experiences teaching Irish abroad, both in the US and in Canada. She is very honest when she speaks about initially wanting to go to Toronto but m...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Vanita Jassal and Kevin McAnena. This was the first ever live episode of Irish in Toronto and I would like to thank Daniel Patton for making it happen. Daniel is the Development and Engagement Manager for North America for Queen’s University Belfast. This event was about allowing members of the Queen’s alumni to share their stories of what brought them to Toronto. 

In this episode, you will hear fr...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Com de Fréine. I know Colm through our love of the Irish language. He is a member of the committee of the branch of Conradh na Gaeilge which we established here in Toronto. Such is our love of the language that this chat will be in Irish. If you are inexperienced with listening to Irish, I would still encourage you to keep listening. Colm and I had a great chat about his coming to Toronto in 1985, leav...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Ciara Ní Lúing. Ciara left her beautiful hometown of Dingle, Co. Kerry for the big city of Toronto eight years ago. I got to know Ciara through our work with Conradh na Gaeilge here in Toronto where we organise events for Irish speakers to meet up and use the language. This has been an invaluable experience for me in Toronto and I am grateful to Ciara for the effort she has made with the group. 

In...

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Ken Tracey. Ken arrived in Toronto in 1989 on the first ever direct flight from Shannon.

I got to know Ken through his work presenting ‘Ceol agus Craic’, a Saturday morning Irish radio show here in Canada, which he presents with his good friend, Mark O’Brien. ‘Ceol agus Craic’ is a great vehicle for the Irish to have their voice heard and spread the word on particular events that are happenin...