Ireland and the Tour de France piece on RTÉ Brainstorm

You will have heard of the Tour de France, I'm sure! The annual road cycling race that runs through France has been drawing spectators since it began in 1903. I just wrote about some of the Irish cyclists who took part in this mythic race over the years for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

Cyclists in the Tour de France in July 1923. Image source.

Dublin-born Seamus (Shay) Elliott was the first Irishman to compete in the Tour de France. That was 70 years ago in 1956 and since then, many Irishmen and some Irishwomen have taken part in the Tour. One Irishman even won the race - that was Stephen Roche in 1987. I watched the Champs-Elysées stage in person a few times. The crowds can be big and the cyclists go so fast that it is hard to see anything but the atmosphere is quite special. 

The women's Tour race has been run in various forms since around 1955 and the latest iteration began in 2022. Let's hope that it and the men's race continue to be enjoyed by spectators for years to come. 

Radio interview with Seán Moncrieff

On Bastille Day 2026, I spoke with Seán Moncrieff on his Newstalk radio show about Samuel Beckett and Mary Elmes. These are just two of the Irish people who put themselves in danger in France during World War Two when they helped the French people by being in the Resistance (Beckett) or by providing needed humanitarian assistance (Elmes). You can listen back to the interview here.

In the Newstalk studio with Seán Moncrieff on 14 July 2026. 

Thanks to Seán for the invite and to Simon Tierney of Newstalk who helped arrange it. I am looking forward to the next interview.

 

Irish in France in WW2 - RTÉ Brainstorm article

For Bastille Day this year, I thought I'd write something about the Irish who gave assistance to France during the Second World War. Some of those who risked their lives as volunteers in the Resistance are well known (like Samuel Beckett) or those who helped out through humanitarian initiatives (like Mary Elmes), but others will not be that familiar to you. Read it here on the RTÉ Brainstorm website.

Samuel Beckett. Image source.

The French Resistance carried out a range of activities including non-violent civil defiance and organised guerilla warfare. They ran underground newspapers and gathered intelligence. It is estimated that between 1 and 3% of the French people took part in the Resistance. Find out more about it here and here. 

Many of the Irish who took part in Resistance activity in France did so as members of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). This was an organisation set up in July 1940 at the instruction of Winston Churchill to help local resistance movements and carry out espionage and sabotage in enemy held territories. You can find out more about the SOE here. According to this article, only 39 women were selected to be part of the SOE Section F or French section. This article by David Murphy contains a good precis of the Irish were part of Section F.

One of those who helped by giving assistance and giving hope was Cork-born Mary Elmes (1908-2002), who carried out essential humanitarian work in France during the War. She helped set up and run refugee camps for people fleeing Franco's nationalist forces in Spain. She provided education for the children in the camps and helped hundreds of Jewish children avoid certain death at Auschwitz concentration camp. She is remembered in her native city with a new pedestrian bridge bearing her name.

Mary Elmes Bridge in Cork city.