{"id":559199,"date":"2026-07-20T15:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T15:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/559199\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T15:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T15:30:24","slug":"a-gaeilgeoir-in-paris-i-have-spoken-more-irish-this-year-than-i-have-since-my-leaving-cert-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/559199\/","title":{"rendered":"A Gaeilgeoir in Paris: \u2018I have spoken more Irish this year than I have since my Leaving Cert\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Co Monaghan, Rachael N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in always imagined herself living in Paris<\/a>. She first visited the French capital the summer she finished her Leaving Certificate<\/a> in 2022. <\/p>\n

That holiday \u201cconfirmed I had to live there\u201d, N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in says. <\/p>\n

On that holiday her father introduced her to Parisian history; where Van Gogh lived, Gertrude Stein\u2019s Paris salon or where Hemingway wrote A Moveable Feast, coincidentally only one or two cobblestone streets away from where N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in lives now, the Centre Culturel Irlandais<\/a> (CCI). <\/p>\n

Housed in the former Irish College, whose origins stretch back to 1578, the CCI has a long history as the cultural interface between Ireland and France.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Queen\u2019s University<\/a> Belfast with a degree in English and Film Studies, N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in wanted to immerse herself fully in French culture. She headed straight for Paris, where the Parisian apartment hunt began. \u201cMy aunt is an artist,\u201d N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in says. \u201cSo she knew about the CCI and encouraged me to apply to live there.\u201d<\/p>\n

N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in performs and teaches Irish music regularly, which she says provided her with \u201cso many opportunities\u201d, including receiving the acceptance email from the CCI. In her application to become an official resident of the CCI N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in cited her skills as a traditional Irish musician and a fluent Irish speaker. <\/p>\n

From N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in\u2019s bedroom window she can see the church in the CCI\u2019s grand courtyard where she plays the fiddle as a paid musician for official CCI events. <\/p>\n

N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in did not expect to find \u201ca family away from home\u201d during her creative journey at the CCI. \u201cOnce you\u2019ve met someone once, there\u2019s always a friendly \u2018hello\u2019 the next time. The CCI meant I was never alone in Paris. I know I have made lifelong friends here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite living more than 700km away from Monaghan town, N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in has \u201cnever felt more connected to Ireland than I have in the past year. I think when you\u2019re living abroad, your sense of pride in your country is heightened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CentreCentre Culturel Irlandais (CCI) in the heart of Paris. Photograph: Anne-Sophie Delhommeau <\/p>\n

When N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in\u2019s sister visited Paris, they both spoke Irish for the duration, she recalls, \u201cbecause, when everyone around you is speaking their own language, it sparks a desire to speak yours\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I have spoken more Irish this year than I have any other year since my Leaving Cert, which is hilarious considering I\u2019m in France.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing Irish can be a real advantage when living abroad,\u201d says Nora Hickey M\u2019Sichili, director of the CCI. \u201cIreland enjoys a warm reputation as a country of music, culture and creativity, and people are often eager to engage with Irish traditions. Traditional music and the Irish language provide a wonderful means of making connections and sharing something distinctive about Ireland.\u201d <\/p>\n

Many of N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in\u2019s work opportunities have been \u201cdirectly tied to her Irish identity \u2013 in music and in media\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"RachaelRachael N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in performing at the Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI). Photograph: Damien Boisson-Ber\u00e7u. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you had told 15-year-old me, who was absolutely obsessed with the Fleadh, that in seven years she\u2019d be playing the fiddle in front of the Taoiseach whilst living in Paris, I\u2019m not sure she\u2019d believe it,\u201d she says, \u201cor translating for Kneecap when they were being interviewed here.\u201d <\/p>\n

N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in believes that identity and place are hugely intertwined. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be who I am if I was not Irish. I have no doubt that whatever I do and wherever I go it will always be a key part of what I do and who I am\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in Co Monaghan, Rachael N\u00ed Leann\u00e1in always imagined herself living in Paris. She first visited the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,26896,15338,61,60,197094,34095,10366,1838,92832,42415],"class_list":["post-559199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann","tag-gaeilge","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-cultural-centre","tag-irish-language","tag-kneecap","tag-paris","tag-queens-university","tag-your-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}