Scholars have systematically theorised that language ideologies can affect the ways in which bilingual speakers in minority language settings identify and engage with the linguistic varieties available to them. Inquiry conducted by the author explored the interplay of language use and ideologies among a purposive sample of adults who started in Gaelic medium education during the first years of its availability. Crucially, the majority of participants’ Gaelic use today is restricted, although important exceptions were found among individuals who were considerably socialised in the language at home during childhood, and a small number of new speakers. This article draws attention to some of the language ideologies that interviewees transferred when describing their cultural identifications with Gaelic. It is claimed that the ideologies that informants express seem to hinder their more frequent use of the language and their association with the wider Gaelic community. This article especially debates interviewees’ negative perceptions of the traditionally defined, ethnolinguistic identity category ‘Gael(s)’ in their expression of language ideologies and identities, and the implications of this finding for other contexts of minority language revival.