Five well-known faces will be brushing up on their Irish skills as they head to Irish college in the heart of Donegal Gaeltacht.
RTÉ’s new series Réaltaí na Gaeltachta is sending five familiar faces to Coláiste Bhríde, Rann na Feirste to take on the challenge of re-learning the Irish language.
Among the stars heading back to Irish class is TikTok sensation Lauren Whelan, known for her make-up and fashion content. The Carlow native has racked up an impressive 1.6M followers on TikTok since joining the app in 2018.
Joining Lauren is sports broadcaster Des Cahill, writer Amanda Brunker, comedian Fred Cooke and Mayo footballer-turned-AFL-player Oisín Mullin.
The group will each spend one week living with a Bean an Tí as real students with classes, céilís and obair bhaile! At the end of the week, the ultimate test awaits: have they all got what it takes to become Réaltaí na Gaeltachta?
Under the watchful eye of Bean an Tí Caitlín Nóra Frainc, Des, Fred, and Oisín share a room in the boys' house. Meanwhile in the girls' house, Amanda and Lauren are right at home with Bean an tí Maighread Mhic Grianna and her granddaughter Aisling.
With the help of Múinteoir Niall Ó Sluain and a host of locals, the five students immerse themselves in the summer college experience complete with classes, céilís and plenty of craic agus ceol.
Each day the students follow a traditional Irish college timetable – classes in the morning, followed by busy afternoons of activities as Gaeilge which include singing, dancing and kayaking.
At the end of the week, each student will build up to a ‘scrúdú béil’ (oral exam) to see just how much their grasp of the Irish language has grown. With a prize-giving at the talent show at the end of the week.
The students also focus on the concert they will be taking part in- Fred must try his hand at a musical set as Gaeilge, Amanda writes and performs a poem, Des wraps his head round his party piece, and Lauren tries to teach Oisín how to dance.
Tune in to the new series of Réaltaí na Gaeltachta on Tuesday February 28, 7pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
