Heya, your gal Siobhan here ( pronounced shiv-AWN). I'm a later in life trans (still new to that), pan, and unbearably weird. Trying to figure this place out, as I'd recently moved to some skies that have....darkened. Ask me anything, and it's a hoot to be here.
Learning the language is an act of love! If you're not able to find a múinteoir, then there are some great resources online.
Mollie Guidera offers online language lessons (www.irishwithmollie.com) and often offers free courses/workshops, and if I remember correctly she has social media with cute little videos on language learning and speculation on etymology.
Molly Nic Céile just released a lovely little book, Gaeilge i mo chroí (Irish in my heart), and also does some online lessons.
Manchán Magan is an Irish folklorist who explores very localized language to preserve words, phrases, and expressions that are particular to specific communities/areas. He also has a fantastic series of explorations on the connections between Irish and Indigenous struggle, and has a new book coming out about the common root of Irish and Vedic folklore/cultural traditional.
Ciara Ní É is a queer poet that I recommend, as she is part of a generation of queer Irish speakers that are at the forefront of building new language that expresses queer Irish identity without reliance on Anglo queer terminology.
Also, this is a really old classic, but Myles Dillon's Teach Yourself Irish, coupled with some online resources, maybe Rosetta Stone, will do much more for you than Duo Lingo.
Above all: music. Music is the living soul of language, if you want to understand Irish then immerse yourself in Irish music.
Wow. Thank you for all this fantastic advice and resources!! The best thing I was looking at before this was a paid online course done by DCU, but Mollie Guidera looks like a better option, and the rest of the resources mentioned look fantastic as well. 💚💚💚