Irish poet John Montague from Co. Tyrone recalls time spent in Paris and returns to Montparnasse where he lived for 10 years.
Montague cycles around Paris reminiscing about times gone by. He recalls the impact that Paris had on him when he moved there describing the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of the city.
Montague provides a rich if not romantic description of life in Paris for an Irish man. A market street provides all the richness of sensuous, pleasure-seeking civilisation. Everything can be bought here "from clothes for the feet to food for the head". He compares the shopping experience in Paris to that in Dublin.
Montague talks about the French-Algerian relationship and the ongoing conflict between the natives and immigrants, comparing their relationship with the French to that between the Irish and the various nationalities that they find themselves in the company of.
Montague reminisces about the artists and the range of nationalities he encountered during his time in Paris lamenting the destruction of the old Montparnasse station and describing Paris as a melting-pot of culture, nationalities and ways of life.
| Title: | The French |
| Clip Duration: | 00:07:22 |
| Material Type: | Video |
| Clip Title: | Paris - A Vision of Paradise |
| Series Title: | Neighbours |
| Information: | 'Neighbours' was a six part series in which a selection of Irish writers presented their individual views of European countries. The writers and the countries were, Sean Ó Faoláin on Italy and England, Jack White on Norway, John Montague on France, Francis Stuart on Germany, and Patrick Gallagher on Belgium. The voiceover in this episode is provided by John Montague expressing his own opinions and memories. Neighbours was first broadcast in 1972. Neighbours was remastered and broadcast again in 2005. |
| Local Keywords: | France, Paris, Montparnasse, Rue Daguerre, John Montague, Bohemian lifestyle, Street Market, Algerian cafe, Construction, Artist studios, French, Citizenship, Nationality, European, Being European, Europe |
| Coverage: | Paris, France |
| Genre: | Factual |
| Topic: | Society and Social Issues |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | John Montague (Presenter) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| First Broadcast Channel: | RTÉ |
| Production Year: | 1972 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | P487/00072 |
| IPR Restrictions: | Rights Reserved - Free Access |
| Rights, Terms and Conditions: | Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
| Item Type: | part/extract |
| Colour: | Colour |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Aspect Ratio: | 4:3 |
| Language: | English (eng) |
| Original Language: | English (eng) |
