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Links & Resources for The Irish Community in France

Originally created to support the Irish community in France during the Covid-19 “confinement”, the Irish in France association now provides a list of links to official information platforms and online activities which we hope will prove useful to you and your families. The list is updated with new suggestions each month so please revisit to check for new additions.

Ireland: Dept of Foreign Affairs & Trade: Global Irish – Staying in touch

Ireland – business and community initiatives

  • Citizens Information Board: Returning to Ireland If you are considering returning to live in Ireland the Citizens Information Board website offers practical advice and information on starting a new life back home.
  • Crosscare Migrant Project Crosscare Migrant Project is a Dublin based NGO providing information and advocacy support to Irish emigrants and people who have moved to Ireland.
  • Safe Home Ireland Safe Home Ireland is an Irish emigrant support service that provides a range of services for returning and returned Irish emigrants. (advice and information service, outreach visits, housing assistance to eligible applicants). 
  • Irish Abroad Online Counselling Service This global service provided by the charitable organisation Helplink Mental Health,  provides culturally sensitive counselling support to Irish citizens living abroad and returning home from living abroad with their emotional support needs; 7 days a week.

France

Support, Advice, Counselling

  • HSE: Minding your mental health during the coronavirus pandemic 
  • CovidÉcoute – S’aider soi-même  CovidEcoute’s free téléconsultation service (FR) closed on June 1st 2020 but the website continues to offer other resources to alleviate personal stress during the Covid19 pandemic.  
  • Carol McCloskey, an Irish counsellor and accredited (association française de psychothérapie approche centrée sur la personne)  working and living in the south of France has offered to support medical frontline workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with free online counselling sessions. Please contact Carol McCloskey directly on 06 01 82 53 72 
  • Counselling in France  A directory of coaches and therapists offering services in English for expatriates in France (addictions, eating disorders, depression, financial difficulties, marital problems) 
  • Adrian McGinn is an Executive & Corporate Coach & Mentor, Leadership Development, & Customer Care Facilitator. Adrian has kindly offered members of the Irish in France community informal one on one online conversations based on a coaching approach, free of charge, to members of the Irish community in France during the Covid-19 pandemic. Adrian’s LinkedIn profile. To contact Adrian, please send him an email to mcginnadrian@yahoo.fr  
  • Cancer Support France is a network of non-profit associations that support English speaking people in France affected by cancer. During the Covid-19 pandemic their volunteers are supporting any English speaker in France who feels isolated or vulnerable. 
  • SOS Helpline Telephone 01 46 21 46 46 Call from 15h00-23h00 daily. The SOS Helpline service offers emotional support to those who are going through a difficult time, loneliness, mental or physical health, family conflict, bereavement, suicidal thoughts.
  • Domestic Violence Help Paris A free support group run by professionals working on a volunteer basis, contact by email directly at: dvwomensgroupparis@gmail.com 
  • Arrêtons les violences Advice on how to seek help, or signal an alert, for physical, psychological or sexual abuse
  • Alcoholics Anonymous Paris Weekly meetings in Paris and suburbs, details of meetings in regions via the Useful AA Links section 
  • Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group: A support group for those caring for loved ones affected by Alzheimers. Telephone 06 15 25 18 13
  • No Panic France:  Helpline with trained helpliners offering support for sufferers of anxiety, phobias, panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder. Telephone 02 51 28 80 25 
  • “18 Practical Tips For Parents To Support The Psychological Well-Being Of Children During The COVID-19 Crisis” by Vincent McDarby, member of the Psychological Society of Ireland 
  • Tous Mobilisés A platform created to support parents of children with disabilities – including advice and counselling by telephone, periods of respite care, volunteers to do shopping, childcare for healthcare workers who have children with disabilities Call 0 805 035 800 Mon-Sat 09h00-12h00 and 14h00-17h00 

Health information 

Irish organisations in /France

  • Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris  Ireland’s flagship cultural centre in Europe. 
  • NetworkIrlande With teams based in Paris and Toulouse  NetworkIrlande’s mission is to support the  Franco-Irish business community through its networking events and webinars. 
  • An Ghaeltacht sur Seine  A community organisation for Irish speakers in Paris with conversation groups/Ciorcal Comhrá  once a month
  • Paris Gaels Founded in 1995, Paris Gaels was the first Continental European club to be affiliated to the GAA.  Promoting Men and Women’s Gaelic Football, hurling and camogie in Paris and the Ile-de-France region
  • Cercle Littéraire Irlandais A voluntary association connecting France and Ireland through poetry and prose.
  • TCD Alumni Society of Paris  The TCD Alumni Society of Paris  aims to foster and build a strong community for all Trinity College Dublin graduates from all schools, ages and professions, currently residing in France, for socializing, networking, celebrating and inspiring. 
  • UCD Alumni France Chapter The French Chapter of UCD Alumni aims to help reconnect graduates with their Alma Mater and fellow alumni in France, allowing them to meet and share experiences.
  • A.F.I.L. (Association Franco-irlandais de Lyon Established in 2008,  A.F.I.L. is a voluntary association which organises Irish cultural and sporting events in Lyon.
  • Celtic Connection Grenoble Celtic connection is a voluntary association which organizes Irish /Celtic cultural events in Grenoble and the surrounding areas. 
  • Fédération Football Gaélique The governing organisation for Gaelic Football in France. Visit the website (currently closed for maintenance) to obtain information on the 24 GAA clubs in France

Language & Culture – free online activities

Irish language

Virtual visits & tours

Read, Write, Watch

  • We are Irish Read good-news stories about Irish people and places at home and abroad 
  • Irish Film Institute Player Over 1200 hours of Irish feature films, newsreels, entertainment programmes, documentaries and animation from the Irish Film Institute’s vaults, including a trip down memory lane with the Irish Adverts Project. 
  • Free Films for the Confinement Described as “One of Ireland’s most sought-after portrait photographers” by The Irish Independent, Conor Horgan is an Irish portrait and travel photographer based in Paris and Dublin. He has also won many awards as a director and screenwriter and a selection of his films is available to view online during this period of confinement including his most recent documentary, The Beholder, featuring three of Ireland’s most notable portrait painters: James Hanley, Mick O’Dea and Brian Maguire. 
  • Dear Ireland What should Ireland write on a postcard to itself? 100 artists from Ireland,  50 writers, 50 actors,  create and narrate the monologues in this theatre project commissioned by the Abbey Theatre Company in April 2020 (available on Youtube for six months) 
  • The Playboy of the Western World  Watch the Druid Theatre Company’s 2005 award-winning production online  
  • Relive great GAA moments! Watch classic hurling and football matches from the 1970’s to the present day on the GAA Youtube channel. 
  • Stay At Home Library Watch some of the best Irish programmes, drama, documentaries, sport, music and poetry, curated by EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum with selections from the RTE Player, the RTE Archive, TG4, GAA Now and Youtube 

Music

  • Watch the Irish National Opera company online Orfeo ed Euridice, La Cenerentola
  • Other Voices The acclaimed music festival which has gathered musicians and artists from all over the world together in Dingle for the last fifteen years presents ‘Courage’, a new project that delivers uplifting, inspiring performances from artists to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic 

Podcasts

  • The Irish Passport Podcast An excellent mix of current affairs, history and culture by Naomi O’Leary and Tim McInerney 
  • An Irishman Abroad Now in its 7th year An Irishman Abroad presented by Jarlath Regan is a series of weekly podcasts interviewing Irish people and people of Irish descent about their lives and gaining insights into the experiences of Irish people abroad. Of special interest at the moment – the Coronapod episodes.  

Quiz

Physical activity, Well-Being

Fun for Kids: Create

  • The Irish in France St Patrick’s Day Resource Pack Available in the St Patrick’s Day section of our website. Fun for kids, big and small! Create a Family Tree Download the template and get your children started on your family’s history  
  • GAA Activity Packs: Create your own team jersey, cut out and make your own GAA team, Croke Park colouring – just some of the activities available in the first two issues of the GAA activity pack for kids! (This will be updated each week during the confinement).  
  • Farmers Guardian Kids Hub  children can  learn about farming and the agricultural industry through fun activities – colouring, videos (includes cute lambs), recipes and learning resources (3-5 years, 5-11 years, 11-16 years)  

Fun for Kids: Write, Draw

  • Museum of Childhood Ireland:  Get your kids to be part of the Worldwide Writing/Art Project 2020 organised by the Museum of Childhood Ireland. A selection of works submitted will appear in Irish and international  exhibitions in 2021. (Please ensure that you read the guidelines regarding subject matter and parental consent). 
  • MOLI Bright Sparks Creative Bursts Workshops Bright Sparks Creative Bursts is a series of art and story workshops organised by the Museum of Literature Ireland in association with Irish writers and illustrators, providing opportunities for families to play and create together. Here, children’s writer Sarah Webb shares some of her fun games with words – warm up writing exercises, Creative Burst Challenges (age 9 but parents can help younger family members) and Extra Challenges for older children (age 11+) 
  • The 42 She Can! Colouring Book Time for some #girlpower! Download the She Can Colouring Book, produced by The42.ie in association with award winning illustrator Chris Judge. Kids can find out all about some of Ireland’s top female sports women while colouring – fun facts for Katie Taylor, Arsenal footballer Louise Quinn, Irish rugby captain Ciara Griffin, and many more.
  • ImagineNation An Post and Children’s Books Ireland have joined forces to create ImagineNation – a 24-page booklet full of great activities for kids! 
  • #DrawWithDon Don Conroy, Ireland’s favourite kid’s artist from the days of The Den is back to teach your kids how to draw in this series of videos. 
  • National Gallery of Ireland Children’s Programme  Create a Monet-inspired drawing, explore nature, make your own camera obscura – just some of the fantastic activities to be found in the National Gallery of Ireland Children’s Programme. 

Fun for Kids: Physical Activity, Well-Being

  • Family Friendly Rugby Games by the IRFU
  • Start a journal Positive memories, rainbow moments, kindness challenges…just some of the exercises in Fiona Forman’s newly-published “Well-Being Journal for Kids”, promoting positive thinking and well-being in young people. 

Fun for Kids: Watch

  • Irish Heritage Park Wexford Short video clips with fun facts about Ireland 10,000 years ago (including how to build your own dolmen) with your virtual guide Jack, who’s just a little bit crazy…the kids will love him! 
  • Watch the animals at Dublin Zoo A chance to see penguins having lunch (14.30 GMT) as well as animals from the African plains (giraffes, rhinos, ostrich and zebras and Dublin Zoo’s Asian elephants- grandmothers, mothers and calves –  elephant sightings are usually possible at 10.30 and 12.30 GMT. 

Fun for Kids: Irish language

 

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