A secondary school teacher has opened up about how she's finding her new-found online fame after setting up a cooking vlog on Instagram.
Orla Drumgoole, who has taught English and Music at St Louis Secondary School in Dundalk for 32 years, set up her Irish Mammy Cooks Instagram account in 2021.
Her goal was to encourage people to enjoy home cooking and baking, and she posts videos teaching people simple and delicious recipes, from easy dinners to tray bakes.
Over time, her views began to creep upwards, and she now has over 140,000 followers. She's also grown her Facebook and TikTok accounts. But where did it all begin for Orla?
"My mam was a feeder," she tells RSVP. "She worked as a teacher, but she loved to bake. We always had freshly baked brown bread, scones or apple tart. She was never not known to be baking. I learned from her that baking and feeding someone was a way of showing love."
Orla has nine siblings, and each night, the family of 11 always sat down together and shared a meal. "The dinner table was the centre of our existence."
As she grew older, Orla also became interested in baking and cooking, and she often takes some of her treats into the classroom to give to students. "Baking takes time, and I think that's the best way of showing someone you care. When you bake for money, it doesn't taste the same."
Her mother was always a champion of the underdog in her classroom, and Orla says she's tried to bring the same attitude into her own teaching career. She considers her Instagram account an extension of the classroom - she's still teaching, just to a wider audience.
Initially, she just posted videos and recipes, without showing her voice or face. One day, Orla's nephew suggested that she start showing more of her personality. "He said, 'What's missing is you, you should let people hear your voice at least'," Orla recalls.
"So I started doing voiceovers. I am a singer and have a nice enough speaking voice, so people seemed to enjoy it. One day, I decided to start appearing on screen, I didn't make a fuss about it."
Orla says that with her, what you see is what you get. "There is so much falseness on social media and I am not going to contribute to that. I also refuse to promote brands and products that don't align with my values."
A lot of her past students come across her page and message her. "They recognise my voice, it's so nice to hear from them again and to reconnect. I remember so many of my students."
She feels like food is a unifying force, and she tries to like and respond to all of the comments she gets. "If someone takes the time out of their day to let me know they enjoyed a recipe, it's the least I can do. People are overwhelming kind."
Orla is now starting to be recognised in the street, and her three children think it's amazing that she's started a whole new career.
She is also keen to make food something fun and positive, as for so many people, food can be triggering. "I have been on my own difficult weight loss journey. I have been open about getting bariatric surgery in 2021, which really changed my life. There are so many negative messages online when it comes to food, calories and weight. I want Irish Mammy Cooks to be a positive space, food is not the enemy, it is something to be enjoyed."
Despite receiving a mostly positive response, Orla does have to deal with hateful and negative comments. "I've blocked about 270 people. Some of them are 75 year old grannies who are leaving awful comments. These are 'grown ups', older people."
Sometimes Orla tries to engage the person in conversation, as she doesn't know what is going on in their lives. If they continue being nasty, she just blocks them. "I've had people comment about how clothes I was wearing don't suit me and I shouldn't wear them because they were 'too young' for me, I've had people criticise me for not 'washing my hands' while cooking."
Orla adds that she's also received negative comments because she's posted about the humanitarian crisis in Palestine. "I lost followers. My dad was in the army and we lived in Israel for a time. I saw how the Palestinian people were treated."
Orla also teaches SPHE, where she talks to her students about the dangers of social media, as well as digital footprints. "Whatever you say on social media will be there forever. We all need to be kinder to each other."
Orla is set to take early retirement in just a few weeks, something which she says is the "right decision", but it's still an emotional one. "I want to leave when I still love teaching, when I am still at my best. I think it's positive for my students to see me embarking on a whole new journey at this stage of my life too.
"I am 57 now and I want to be able to go on adventures with my husband Paddy, who's already retired. I will also be able to dedicate more time to my vlog too. I always wanted to be a writer or a journalist, and this is my way of doing it. "
- You can look at all of Orla's recipes by following @irishmammycooks on Instagram
