Mother Tongues

What Mother Tongues does

Mother Tongues is an Irish non-profit organisation founded in 2017 by Dr Francesca La Morgia, headquartered in Tallaght, South Dublin County, and operating across Ireland with selected cross-border activity in Belfast. It is Ireland's first organisation dedicated to promoting multilingualism and celebrating linguistic and cultural diversity through the arts. Its core programme portfolio centres on Language Explorers (Early Years workshops for children aged 3-6 and in-school delivery to primary schools), the annual Mother Tongues Festival, talks and consultations for parents and professionals, artist development programmes, and a content library (podcasts on RTÉ, articles, downloadable resources, and the OWLET: Lullabies of the World series). It also runs the All Together – Gach le Chéile project with Ozanam House Early Learning Centre and is a partner in the Erasmus+ BABO project and the Shared Island Civic Society Fund initiative with ArtsEkta.

The organisation has no proprietary technology platform; delivery is grounded in person-led workshops, artist residencies, events, and digital content distributed through mainstream social channels and partner media. Its business model is grant-funded rather than commercial: principal funders are Arts Council of Ireland and South Dublin County Council Arts Office, supplemented by grants from DCEDIY, HSE, Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin City Council, Community Foundation Ireland, The Ireland Funds, and the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal Fund. Programmes are offered free to families; bespoke talks and consultations for corporates (Microsoft, LinkedIn) and institutions represent a marginal commercial line. Distribution is via partnerships with libraries, arts centres (Rua Red, The Civic, Tallaght Community Arts, Roscommon Arts Centre), schools, and community spaces.

Mother Tongues serves four primary segments: families with young multilingual children (primary), primary schools and educators, parents and professionals seeking guidance on bilingual development, and migrant/minority ethnic artists. The organisation is led by Director Fernanda Ferrari (appointed March 2025, succeeding founder Dr La Morgia) with a voluntary board, and has received two European Language Label Awards (2018, 2024), a HundrED Spotlight (2021), and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Impact Awardee status (2021). Headcount is approximately 12 staff and associates spanning creative production, linguistic consultancy, and operations.

Name

Mother Tongues

Legal name

Mother Tongues

Website

https://mothertongues.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mother Tongues is an Irish non-profit founded in 2017 that promotes multilingualism and cultural diversity through arts-based programmes, including Language Explorers workshops, an annual festival, and artist development, serving multilingual families, primary schools, and migrant artists across Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multilingual Arts Education

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural, Multilingual & Immigrant Family Engagement Programs (EDACALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bilingual & Multilingual Early Learning Content (EDAGACAF), Indigenous, Ethnic & Folk Arts/Heritage Organizations (BPAGAHAI)

Keywords

• Multilingual arts education
• Early years language workshops
• Bilingual family programmes
• Cultural diversity initiatives
• Community language festivals

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Mother Tongues is primarily funded through grants from government bodies and arts organisations. Principal funders include the Arts Council of Ireland and South Dublin County Council Arts Office. Additional funding has been received from HSE, Department of Children Equality Disability Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), Department of Foreign Affairs, Community Foundation Ireland, Dublin City Council, and Dublin Bus. The organisation has also received support from The Ireland Funds and RTÉ Toy Show Appeal Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Mother Tongues delivers arts-based multilingual programmes, including free Language Explorers Early Years workshops for families with children aged 3-6, Language Explorers in primary schools, the annual Mother Tongues Festival, talks and consultations on bilingualism, and artist development programmes for migrant and minority ethnic artists. All offerings are designed to celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity and are delivered through partnerships with arts centres, libraries, schools, and cultural institutions primarily in Ireland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Language Explorers: Mother Tongues' award-winning programme celebrating language and creativity through high-quality artistic experiences for children and families, comprising Early Years workshops (ages 3-6) and in-schools programmes.
• Mother Tongues Festival
• OWLET: Lullabies of the World

Products and services

• Language Explorers Early Years
• Language Explorers in Schools
• Mother Tongues Festival
• Talks and Consultations
• Artist Development Programmes
• OWLET: Lullabies of the World
• All Together – Gach le Chéile
• A Journey for Change (Shared Island Civic Society Fund)
• BABO – Bilingual and Bicultural Outlook

Quantifiable outcome

• 1684+ parents and children attended Language Explorers Early Years programme for free in 12 months
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and regional.

• ArtsEktacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2024Partnership with ArtsEkta for the Shared Island Civic Society Fund 2024 project 'A Journey for Change'. Six artists from diverse backgrounds explored themes of resistance and reconciliation, creating an interactive installation 'My Working Space' exhibited at Mother Tongues Festival 2025 and ArtsEkta in Belfast. Initiative aimed at fostering North-South cooperation between Ireland.
• Ozanam House Early Learning CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for 'All Together – Gach le Chéile' project, a 16-workshop creative multilingual arts programme for early years children and families. Funded by Arts Council Arts in Early Learning and Childcare Scheme, set in Dublin's North East Inner City.
• South Dublin County Council Arts OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrincipal funder and partner for Cultural Diversity Programme 2021-2024. Partnership to make South Dublin County's artistic landscape more representative of its diverse population through artist training, networking, and residency programmes.
• Rua Red Arts CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Cultural Diversity Programme and Cultural Quarter collaboration. Provides workspace for Mother Tongues office and supports programme delivery. Partner for See Through Café project.
• Early Childhood IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for OWLET: Lullabies of the World project - a podcast series supporting babies and young children to practice language and develop positive identity. Supported by RTÉ Toy Show Appeal Fund in association with Community Foundation Ireland.
• BABO Project ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErasmus+ programme partner (2022-2025) focused on Blended Multilingual Learning in Preschool Age. Mother Tongues contributes to transnational meetings and development of resources for EAL learners.
• RTÉmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for OWLET: Lullabies of the World podcast series and Mother Tongues Podcast on RTÉ platforms. RTÉ Junior Radio partnership showcasing languages spoken in Ireland.
• Roscommon Arts CentreregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional partnership to deliver Language Explorers workshops to families in Roscommon, expanding programme reach beyond Dublin.
• South Dublin LibrariescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Cultural Quarter and Cultural Diversity Programme. Provides venue for Language Explorers workshops and other community programmes.
• The Civic (Tallaght)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Cultural Quarter collaboration for cultural diversity initiatives in South Dublin.
• Tallaght Community ArtsregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Cultural Diversity Programme and intercultural network. Collaborative programming for South Dublin arts community.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Heritage Language Association: UK-based non-profit advocating for heritage and community language learning in formal education. Comparable mission to support mother-tongue maintenance among multilingual children, with overlapping stakeholder base of parents, educators, and policy advocates.
• Wikitongues: Global non-profit dedicated to documenting and preserving languages worldwide. Highly comparable mission around multilingualism and cultural preservation, although its delivery model is volunteer videography rather than arts-based workshops.
• Babel Babies: UK-based social enterprise running multilingual music and sensory classes for babies and young children. Comparable early-years multilingual programming with a creative-arts delivery model and similar parent-engagement focus.

Regional players

• Integrate Ireland Language and Training: Irish non-profit providing English-language and integration training to migrants and refugees. Comparable as an Ireland-based multilingual integration organisation, though its focus is adult language training rather than arts-based early-years programmes.
• NALA (National Adult Literacy Agency): Irish non-profit advocating for adult literacy and English-language provision. Comparable as an Ireland-based language-focused non-profit working with marginalised communities, although focused on adult literacy rather than multilingual early-years arts.
• Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: Irish-language cultural centre in Belfast with Dublin branch promoting linguistic heritage through the arts. Comparable as a non-profit combining language promotion with cultural/arts programming, although focused on Irish rather than migrant languages.

Emerging players

• Akwaaba: UK-based non-profit providing migration support and cultural integration programmes. Comparable as a community-based organisation serving migrant and multilingual families, though broader in scope (welfare, advice) than Mother Tongues' arts-led approach.
• Endangered Language Fund: US-based non-profit supporting documentation and revitalisation of endangered languages. Comparable thematic focus on linguistic diversity and minority-language preservation, though operating through grants to researchers rather than direct community arts delivery.

Broad incumbents

• CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education): UK-based non-profit advancing literacy and multilingualism in primary education through training and resources. Comparable focus on early-years and primary-school language development, with similar training-for-educators and school-programme delivery.
• Kala Sangam: UK arts organisation promoting South Asian and broader cultural diversity through performance and participation. Comparable as an arts-based platform supporting cultural diversity and migrant artists, but with a broader arts programming remit rather than language-specific focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MotherTonguesIE
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCe3KS89QBKZCdSheIMo2J3Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/mothertongues.ie
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mother-tongues
• Instagraminstagram.com/mother_tongues_ireland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mother Tongues