Cheers! An Irishman's Diary on Félix Kir, politican, priest and Resistance hero, who inspired a cocktail.

Félix Kir (1876-1968) was a man of many talents. During a very full life, he was a Catholic priest, Resistance hero and politician at both local and national level in France. He was Mayor of the city of  Dijon in eastern France and a member of the French national parliament from 1945 until his death in 1968. Read my Irishman's Diary in today's Irish Times newspaper about him here.

Félix Kir meeting police officers outside the Assemblée nationale in Paris. Image source.

Kir was not the only priest to sit in the Assemblée nationale in modern times. Abbé Pierre (1912-2007) also sat in the parliament from 1945 to 1951. He was a champion for the homeless and founded Emmaüs, the charity that helps those in poverty and homelessness. 

Short video (en français) about Félix Kir. Source

The alcoholic cocktail named in honour of Félix Kir is the Kir. When he was Mayor of Dijon, he used to serve a blanc-cassis (white wine and blackcurrant flavoured liqueur, crème-de-cassis) to his guests. He made such a good job of popularising the drink that authorities decided to name it after him.

Classic Kir cocktail. Image source