The Centre Culturel Irlandais invites the public to an evening of Franco-Irish historical research, featuring two Irish-based historians, Sofia Bellegia and Simon Viot, who will present the findings of their recent work on the enduring connections between Ireland and France.
Both historians received grants from the Rev. Liam Swords Foundation to undertake research residencies at the Centre Culturel Irlandais during the summer of 2026. They return to Paris to share the results of their research, exploring the lives of an Irish saint whose legacy crossed national boundaries and the religious communities that helped sustain Irish Catholic life in France over several centuries.
Sofia Bellegia: The Collections of Miracles of Saint Lawrence O’Toole († 1180)
Laurent O’Toole, known in Irish as Lorcán Ua Tuathail, was Abbot of Glendalough, Archbishop of Dublin and Papal Legate in Ireland. He played an important role in the reform of the Latin Church during the twelfth century and lived through the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169.
Following his death in Eu, Normandy, in 1180, three collections of Latin miracle accounts were compiled at the sanctuary where he was buried. Together, they record approximately 250 healings and intercessions attributed to the Irish saint, offering a fascinating insight into the lives and beliefs of people from different levels of French society in the Middle Ages.
Drawing on her summer research into manuscripts, Sofia will present preliminary findings from her work towards a critical edition of these important but relatively little-studied texts. Her research sheds light on medieval French society and the place of an Irish saint in Europe’s shared cultural and religious memory.
Simon Viot: The Irish Capuchins in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
The Capuchins emerged in the early sixteenth century as a branch of the Franciscan order, committed to living according to the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi. Irish men began joining the order in the 1590s, and Irish Capuchins subsequently established two convents in northeastern France during the 1620s and 1630s. These communities continued until the French Revolution.
Over two centuries, several hundred men took their vows in these convents. The institutions became centres of pastoral activity among local communities and bases for preparing Irish missionaries to return to Ireland, where they sought to counter the spread of Protestantism.
Drawing on research undertaken in Parisian archives during his summer residency, Simon will explore the network of Irish Capuchin convents, the religious lives and activities of their members, and the evolution of these communities through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and beyond the French Revolution.
Continuing the Franco-Irish Connection
The Rev. Liam Swords Foundation supports Irish postgraduate students and researchers by providing opportunities to undertake research residencies at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. Through this support, researchers can access important historical collections, develop their work and share their findings with a wider audience.
This event celebrates that legacy, bringing to light the rich and often overlooked history of the connections between Ireland and France through faith, scholarship and cultural exchange.
Event details
- Date: Thursday, October 29, 2026
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Venue: Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris
- Admission: Free; reservations recommended
For further information and reservations, please consult the Centre Culturel Irlandais website.