This article aims to explore the interplay between language, vulnerability and resilience. More concretely, it examines the ways in which being subject to language-related vulnerability in interactions with the public shapes the agency of politicians of migrant origin in Ireland. Using a theoretical approach that sees vulnerability and resilience as dynamically related, the article analyses data from interviews with two local politicians of migrant background who speak a variety of English other than Irish English. The study shows that they find a way, albeit not without struggle, to enact agentive strategies to position themselves in the field of politics.