Meet the Wexford man creating a PC game through the Irish language

Creating a game from scratch would be difficult for any person, but to create a game through the Irish language adds to that difficulty…

But that is the case for Wexford man, Darragh Mac an Ghall (Darragh Gill), who is the CEO of a new-gaming company called Colún Games.

Also of Scottish heritage, Darragh grew up in Gorey, County Wexford. Along with living abroad in countries such as Germany and the Czech Republic, Darragh also spent nearly two years in Athens, Greece, working for Apple and JUUL, gaining valuable international business experience.

The name of the game that Darragh and his team is producing is “Na Gaill,” a game that seeks to combine fun game-play and history, all through the medium of the Irish language.

Na Gaill is an online game set in 9th century Ireland. It combines nautical exploration with shrewd economic tactics, enabling players to conquer the seas and towns of the Gaelic world. 795AD sees the arrival of Norse ships, attacking and raiding undefended towns.

The Viking invaders set up trading posts across Scotland and Ireland to make a profit on their stolen goods. Na Gaill gives you the opportunity to join this landscape – sail your Viking fleet throughout the island of Ireland, raid Gaelic towns and villages, and sell your goods to out-manoeuvre your fellow players.

One might ponder though, where did this all begin for Darragh:

“In June 2023, I had an idea for a naval/exploration/trading game based on my experience around fishing boats and the sea in general. I initially developed the concept and fully fleshed out the game’s design, but I soon realised I needed a team to bring it to life. After reaching out, I gathered a group of talented people, and from there, Colún Games was born. We haven’t looked back since. Now Na Gaill’s development is well underway,” he told Wexford Weekly.

For most people who venture down the route of creating a game through their native tongue, there must have been a sheer love of the language to begin with. For Darragh, his love of the language didn’t start in school; instead, it was when he started travelling that he learned to appreciate and love the Irish language more:

“I didn’t always have such a passion for Gaeilge; in school I was a terrible student. After living abroad in Eastern Europe and the Balkans I realised the meaning behind Pádraig Pearse’s quote “Tír gan teanga, Tír gan anam” or “a country without a language is a country without a soul,” Darragh told Wexford Weekly.

Right now, Colún Games is based out of Cabinteely in Dublin, however, it’s not just Darragh working on the game. For a project like this to become reality, there needs to be buy-in from talented people – and that’s exactly what’s happening:

“Colún is based in Cabinteely but we have guys in Kerry, Mayo and even Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal working on Na Gaill,” he said.

Regarding the creation of the game itself, it’s no doubt a fun experience for Darragh and his team. He is creating a brand-new product from the bottom up, built solely on a vision and a passion. Although it can be difficult, one of the best things for Darragh is simply the people that he meets in his line of work, noting that the shared enthusiasm is an inspiring aspect:

“The people you meet while making a game like this are bursting with enthusiasm and give you so much support in a project like this. It makes the job of creating this game so enjoyable for us at Colún and we are lucky to have the privilege to work on Na Gaill,” he said.

With many new projects built on a vision, it can be difficult though. For similar projects starting off with production and bringing it to life, one of the most difficult things is receiving financial backing. Without financial support, the vision is somewhat limited.

“We’ve been entirely self-funded throughout development so far, without external investment or grants. We all work full time or are in full time education so every free hour we have goes into Na Gaill. Without compensation, we’re running on pure passion – but running nonetheless,” Darragh told Wexford Weekly.

“We are also launching a Kickstarter campaign on St Patrick’s Day 17th of March 2025. At the moment everybody working on the game also works full time and so a successful Kickstarter campaign would allow us to focus our complete attention on developing Na Gaill.”

Even though it can be challenging, the team at Colún Games are showing no signs of stopping. Instead, they are putting every last hour into the game to create the product. It’s a passion project – but it is one that could have a significant cultural impact, given that it can be used as a learning tool and that it may inspire others to pick up the Irish language.

“Na Gaill will absolutely be able to be used as a learning tool, but like other new Irish language media the purpose of Na Gaill is first and foremost to make an Irish language game that is fun and engaging. We hope that by playing Na Gaill, players can learn Irish unintentionally,” the Wexford man said.

In Ireland in 2022, 39.8% of people in Ireland stated that they have the ability to speak Irish. However, from a realist perspective, this number is far less, with many arguing that Irish is a ‘dying language’ and doesn’t serve any purpose anymore. However, Darragh doesn’t agree with this viewpoint whatsoever:

“Irish is not dying; in fact, it is experiencing a resurgence. The language is a core part of our identity, and recent trends show a growing appreciation for it, particularly among younger generations. There has been a dramatic change in the status of Gaeilge from what it was in 2016. Since 2016 the amount of people who speak Irish is up 6% which means for the first time in recent history since before the Famine the Irish language is bouncing back. In 2017, a study found that 70% of fifth and sixth class students in an English-medium primary school ranked Irish among their least favorite subjects, but by 2025, a survey revealed that 68% of sixth-year students expressed appreciation for the language. The future is very bright for the Irish language,” he said confidently.

Once produced, the game will be available to play both single player and online multi-player. The game will be available on PC via Steam but they are also exploring console and mobile options.

The big question on everyone’s mind, especially when it comes to new games, is the release date:

“Fingers crossed with investment we are hoping to release by the end of 2025,” he said.

Regarding investment, Colún Games will be running a Kickstarter campaign which will be launched on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 2025. For more information about the game, or to see more screenshots and trailers, you can check out their website here.

Advertise on Wexford Weekly