Lá Breithe Sona Wikipedia! Celebrating 25 Years of Free Knowledge Artwork

Wikimedia Community Ireland's Podcast

At Wikimedia Community Ireland, we aim to assist and inspire people to contribute educational, cultural, and historical content to the public domain or under licenses that allow free use, distribution, and modification. We collaborate with institutions to make their collections more accessible and work towards preserving Ireland's heritage.

Established in 2014, we are a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization committed to using and promoting free and open-source information resources. Our goal is to safeguard and promote the Irish language while encouraging the release of materials in both English and Gaeilge.

We're an affiliate of the Wikimedia Foundation in Ireland, dedicated to fostering the creation, promotion, and sharing of free knowledge. Our mission is to cultivate a culture of openness throughout Ireland, ensuring that the rich diversity of our creativity and knowledge is globally accessible without barriers.

Stay tuned as we explore fascinating topics related to our mission and the vibrant world of Wikimedia Community Ireland. Let's dive into the realm of free knowledge together!

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Wikimedia Community Ireland's Podcast

Lá Breithe Sona Wikipedia! Celebrating 25 Years of Free Knowledge

February 06, 2026 • Wikimedia Community Ireland

0:00 | 47:22

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Fáilte ar ais! Welcome back to the Wikimedia Community Ireland podcast — our first episode of 2026!

In this special episode, we're celebrating Wikipedia's 25th birthday with a look back at how it all began, how Wikimedia Community Ireland was founded, and how the Irish language has become central to our work.

We're joined by founding members Shannon and Eugene Eichelberger, who share their memories of discovering Wikipedia, their first edits, and how a trip to the pub after an edit-a-thon in 2014 led to the creation of WCI.

We also introduce Laura, our new Irish Language Officer, and reflect on the growth of Vicipéid (Irish-language Wikipedia), which now has over 60,000 articles — all written by volunteers.

In this episode:

How Wikipedia launched 25 years ago as a radical experiment in collaborative knowledge
Shannon and Eugene's first impressions and first edits
The origin story of Wikimedia Community Ireland
How the Irish language focus evolved and why it matters
The role of Vicipéid in language revitalisation
What excites the team about 2026

Links:

Learn more: wikimedia.ie
Vicipéid (Irish Wikipedia): ga.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia's 25th anniversary: wikipedia.org

Go raibh maith agaibh as éisteacht! Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with anyone who loves free knowledge.

Welcome to the Wikimedia community Ireland podcast, your portal to free knowledge and Irish culture.

Intro contains Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/achaidh-cheide
License code: JBQCMVAHZIMU692D

Sign up to our newsletter at wikimedia.ie or follow us on social media @wikimediaie to keep up to date with upcoming events all over Ireland in 2025!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, and share it with your friends or on social media. Together, we can make Ireland’s heritage accessible to all. Until next time, keep exploring and celebrating our shared history.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh as éisteacht linn, thank you very much for listening!