By 
WHEN Strabane man John Duffy welcomed the birth of his daughter, Eira, he soon found himself facing long, sleepless nights with little to do except watch late-night news or doom-scroll through social media.
It was during those quiet early hours that he finally decided to start learning Irish, something the teacher, now living in London, had long hoped to do since childhood.
“I always wanted to learn Irish, but it wasn’t really an option at the schools I went to in Strabane,” John told the Tyrone Herald.
“So when Eira was born almost four years ago, I knew I’d have some late nights. I downloaded Duolingo and started to learn.”
As he began teaching Eira to speak, John soon realised he could use her young and inquisitive mind to help his own Irish-language journey.
“I noticed how amazingly quickly Eira was learning sounds and words she was like a sponge,” he said. “I started teaching her simple phrases in Irish, and she would say them back to me. Hearing her repeat them was a great learning tool. She really took to the language and loved it, so I kept going.
“That was a couple of years ago, and people are always amazed at how many words and phrases she knows.
“I’ve moved on from Duolingo and now attend classes, and my Irish has gotten a lot better.
“We have BBQs here in London with friends who speak Gaeilge, and it’s always so nice to see them and Eira having a conversation. It really is brilliant how much she knows and she’s only three.”
After a while, John decided to post a few videos on Instagram showing off Eira’s Irish, and they quickly exploded in popularity.
The clips have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times across TikTok and Instagram under the name EiraBeag.
They have also amassed more than 157,000 likes on TikTok and 15,700 on Instagram, with the most popular video surpassing 275,000 views.
“We started an Instagram account to share her learning journey, and it has truly taken off, attracting attention from across Ireland and further afield,” said John. “People seem to really enjoy the videos, and Eira loves seeing them. We’ve received amazing, supportive comments from all over Ireland. We never thought the videos would become so popular, but they have.”
Eira has even gained a few famous fans, most notably the Irish-language rap group Kneecap. In several videos, Eira mentions her love for the group, and in return the band have become enthusiastic supporters of her content.
The group have sent Eira video messages, merchandise, and even her own custom-made balaclava, created by the same designer who makes DJ Provai’s.
“In a couple of our videos I showed Eira dancing along to Kneecap songs and made a few funny videos of her talking about how much she loves them, and the band saw them and started commenting and messaging us individually,” John said.
“Since then they’ve kept in touch, and gifted Eira her own custom-made balaclava just like DJ Provai’s. He even sent her a video message about it. We were invited to Donegal to receive it, and it was a very proud moment for our family.”
John told the Tyrone Herald that Eira loves visiting Strabane. Their most recent trip home was over Halloween, when they enjoyed the town’s celebrations and fireworks.
“StrabaneDiego will always be our home,” said John. “Eira has just returned to London from a visit home. She has been talking about Strabane constantly and clearly feels a strong connection to her roots.
“She loved the Tinnies, especially as they were dressed up for Halloween, and the Melvin fireworks.
“We don’t get home as much as I’d like, but we have a few adventures planned for the coming year.”
This year, John, Eira, and ‘Mami’, as John’s wife is known in the videos, plan to take a trip to the Gaeltacht in Donegal so Eira can see Irish used as a first language, order things in cafés and shops, and chat with local residents using the language she has already grown to love.
“I would love to take Eira to the Gaeltacht so she can see Irish being used fluently,” said John.
“I can’t wait to see her order things in shops and talk to people in cafés. I think that will be really special.”
You can follow Eira’s journey with the Irish language and the families hillarious videos on Instagram and Tiktok by searching EiraBeag.
