French / English language newspaper in Australia

Le Courrier Australien was a bilingual weekly French and English language newspaper that ran from 1892 to 2011. It was the longest running foreign language newspaper in Australia and covered everything from science, trade, literature, fine arts, fashion, the two World Wars, to politics in general. It also carried advertisements and published cartoons. In recent years, the title has been revived and it is now published as an online only newspaper. See their website here.

The National Library of Australia has digitised all of Le Courrier Australien and it is now freely available to search on Trove, their digital library. It is a fantastic resource to find out more about the French / Francophone community in Australian and the commercial and cultural links between France and Australia. 

Below is a YouTube video from the National Library of Australia that explains the history of the newspaper and tells you how to search through it on Trove. 

Video about Le Courrier Australien newspaper from the National Library of Australia.

An Irishman's Diary on Irish sculptor Gabriel Hayes

Newspaper clipping showing Gabriel Hayes at work. 

The multi-talented Irish sculptor, Gabriel Hayes (1909-1978), left behind a rich artistic legacy. Her statues and carvings in wood, bronze and stone and her colourful paintings display her talent and love of creating art. I have just written an Irishman's Diary about her life and times in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here. 

This is a short video about Gabriel Hayes with Prof. Paula Murphy. Source.

As I mention in the article, Hayes also designed coins (one of which you can see below), as well as medals, trophies and plaques. If you want to find out more about Hayes, have a look at these links:

• Royal Irish Academy website
• Dictionary of Irish Architects website
• Dictionary of Irish Biography website
• Galway cathedral website
• St Jude's parish website

Irish 1P coin (in circulation 1971-2001) designed by Gabriel Hayes. Image source.

Bronze statue of Luke Wadding by Gabriel Hayes in Waterford city.

My article about Marguerite Durand and 'La Fronde' in Japanese!

The article that I wrote in the Irish Times newspaper in May 2020 about Marguerite Durand and the newspaper that she founded, La Fronde, has been translated into Japanese. 

Once the original article was published in the Irish Times, I was surprised by the reaction to it. There was a lot of interest in it in France and Japan. 

The Japanese translation came about when Courrier Japon contacted me and said that they would like to translate my article into Japanese. I have to say that I am delighted that my article was so well received. It is really a testament to Marguerite Durand and her newspaper colleagues. 

Read the Japanese translation here: Japanese translation

Read my original article here: Original article