Fiche Bliain … agus ag Fás! On the 18th of October 2002, twenty years ago, the Centre Culturel Irlandais at 5 rue des Irlandais, was officially opened by John O'Donoghue T.D., then Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism.
To celebrate the rightful recolonisation of the former Collège des Irlandais in the 5th arrondissement (that part of Paris which will be forever Ireland), back in 2002 Myles Dungan presented two special Rattlebag programmes on RTÉ Radio 1 from the Old Library. Sound engineer Pat Hogan supervised the installation of ISDN lines which made these programmes possible.
Listen to the first installment below:
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The programmes included contributions from author John McGahern and his translator Francoise Cartano, conservation architect David Slattery while Kay Sheehy spoke to photographer David Farrell who mounted the inaugural exhibition Small Acts of Memory dealing with the excavations and searches for those who ‘disappeared’ during The Troubles. Musical guests were Dervish and Cormac De Barra.
Listen to the second installment below:
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Founded in the late 16th Century as a seminary for the education of Irish priests, the Collège des Irlandais had fallen into disrepair and finally closed in the early 20th Century. Monsignor Brendan Devlin, who still holds the ecclesiastical title of (last) Director of The Irish College, told Myles how, in 1997, he gently facilitated the evacuation of Polish seminarians who had been in residence since 1945. This was a precarious manoeuvre considering (i) the Polish were sitting tenants and had been throughout the existence of the Iron Curtin (ii) at that time the serving Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church and Successor of the Prince of the Apostles was himself Polish born, bred and buttered and (iii) the same Karol Wojtyla had spent time studying in the College before his consecration as Bishop of Rome. Brendan says he managed this feat ‘by masterly inactivity’.
When, in 1997, the property title was finally and firmly established as belonging to Ireland, Billy Glynn of Fondation Irlandaise set to work lobbying the Irish Government for €10 million to restore the College. Within five years, the job was done. Helen Carey was appointed Directrice and Nora Hickey M’Sichili continues that work today - find out more Centre Culturel Irlandais here.
