The Irish College in Paris in the Franco-Prussian War

The Irish College in Paris was one of over 30 colleges across Europe that were established (in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries) to educate Irishmen who wanted to become Catholic priests. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about how the Irish College in Paris was affected by the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the Paris Commune (18 March-28 May 1871). Read it here.

View of the courtyard of the Irish College in Paris. Image source.

The Irish College was established in Paris in the 16th century. Since then thousands of Irishmen passed through the College with many becoming priests and returning to Ireland to carry out their duties. Here is a link to the Etudes Irlandaises journal article that I referred to in my newspaper article. Today, the building at 5, rue des Irlandais, houses the Centre Culturel Irlandais. On its website, you can find out more about the history of the College. 

This year, 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Franco-Prussian War when France was defeated by Prussia (Germany) and Germany was unified under Wilhelm I. Next year, 2021, will mark the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune when a radical socialist revolutionary government was set up to govern Paris following the collapse of the French Second Empire. If you would like to find out more about the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, you might find this 'In Our Time' podcast from the BBC interesting. You might also like to read this article from the Guardian newspaper from 1871 about the Commune.