Summary

On the 2nd October 1989 the contingent comprising of 58 troops arrived in France at Cherbourg. The Irish College in Paris was a centre for Irish emigres in France for over three centuries. The College helped to create and maintain a distinguished Irish Brigade which consisted of five battalions of infantry and a cavalry regiment. It served France with distinction. The college was closed and re-opened in 1945. A small group or Polish priests, survivors of Dachau, were admitted. One of them was Karol Woityla, now Pope John Paul II. These Polish priests remained in the college until the early 80's. A committee for the restoration of the college was established in the late 1980's to restore the college and among the patrons was the then primate of All-Ireland, Cardinal Tomas O Fiaich. On the day of re-opening the college was visited again by Irish soldiers, not by the famed Wild Geese but by the 20 Battalion On Friday the 6th October 1989 the college was re-opened, the principal participants were the then Taoiseach, Charles J Haughey and Cardinal O Fiaich.

Detailled Report

On 29th September 1989, six members of the 20th Infantry Battalion drove on board the Rosslare to Cherbourg Irish Ferries car ferry on route to France. Their presence on board the ferry in their FCÁ uniforms was probably unique and raised quiet an amount of interest among other passengers. What they and others members of 20 Inf Bn were about to do was certainly unique in FCÁ terms and has not been repeated since.

Comdt Aidan O'Flanagan, Lt Paul Mullally (OC and 2 i/c A Coy), CQMS Derek Fitzgerald, Cpl Eoghan O'Sullivan, Cpl Jim Hoare and Cpl John Twamley were the advanced party for "Meitheal na Fraince", a party of FCÁ members of 20 Infantry Battalion who were to spend 10 to 12 days in France. The task of Meitheal na Fraince was twofold; they would undertake a relay-march to Paris and participate in the official reopening of College des Irlandais in Paris In addition, they would play their part in the bi-centenary of the French Revolution of 1789, a revolution which was to have such a profound impact on Ireland within nine years of the French Revolution.

Some background information to this memorable event is warranted. The Irish College in Paris was a centre for Irish émigrés in France for over 300 years. It was described by one of our poets as "The old College of the Irish" and its students as "all bare exiles, Soldiers, Scholars, Priests". It was now about to be revisited by soldiers - not the Irish 'Wild Geese' of former years but by part-time members of the Defence Forces. In its time, the College helped create and maintain the famous Irish Brigade - five battalions of infantry and a regiment of horse - which served French and Irish with such distinction. The College has a long and chequered history interwoven with both French and Irish history. In modern times, the College was closed during World War 2, and when it reopened in 1945 a small group of Polish priests, survivors of Dachau, were admitted. On of these was Karol Wotyla later to become Pope John Paul II. Polish priests had remained in the College up to the 1980s but by then the College required repair and upgrading and a new use. The College was to be used to accommodate the new "Wild Geese" - young Irish men and women who wished to study, train or gain experience in the modern Europe. Meetings and events of Irish interest would also be held in this prestigious historic building. A committee for the restoration of the College was formed and among its patrons was the then Roman Catholic Primate of All-Ireland, Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich.

The Adjutant of 20 Inf Bn, Capt Paddy O'Reilly was approached by the Chairman of the fund-raising committee for assistance. A plan was proposed which would involve volunteers from the Battalion undertaking a sponsored march from Le Havre to Paris with each volunteer being asked to collect £100 in sponsorship. A total of 58 were to answer the call.

Planning for the trip commenced about 18 months in advance. Behind the scenes, Capt O'Reilly set about obtaining the necessary approvals and assistance. Neither was easy; the most difficult being obtaining approval from the Irish military authorities. At one stage, it appeared the event would not go ahead as approval was not forthcoming. Perseverance eventually paid off (some say through the intervention of the then Taoiseach, C J Haughey, who was also involved with the Irish College). The French seemed to be supportive but many a letter, fax and phone call was required to the French Military Attaché, French Embassy and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs among others. Others like Irish Ferries, Dublin Bus and RTÉ were also approached to name but a few; many to no avail. Lt Capt Jack Kinnane eventually arranged a coach at a good price from Alan Martin Coaches but unfortunately much of the funds which the battalion had hoped would go directly to the College had to be diverted to support services such as the hire of the bus. Irish Ferries came up trumps and saved much need sponsorship.

By July 1989, preparations were well advanced and a provisional timetable of events was published. At this stage it was envisaged that the party would travel about 50 km per day on a relay basis i.e. each of three syndicates covering 15 km per day. Two axis of advance were considered; Le Havre - Rouen - Paris on the northern side of the Seine and Caen - Evreux - Paris on the southern side. Route planning at this stage was been done on the basis of an AA road map. Accommodation in French military establishments had still to be agreed; accordingly, precise routes were difficult to plan. Subsequently, it was deemed imperative that an advanced party would be required to recce and plan the march routes in detail. These 'pathfinders' proved their worth and there were no incidents of marchers losing their way.

The advance party set foot on French soil at Cherbourg on 30th September and proceeded to Evreau, a small town about half way between Paris and Le Havre. It found Centre d'Instruction de Preparation Militare, Quartier Tilly without too much difficulty in the late evening. The party was expected, which was a relief in itself, and shown to their quarters and apologies were made about the quality of the accommodation. To the advance party, compared with what they were used to back in Ireland, apologies were not required. The following morning, apologies were also proffered as the hosts could only offer a 'French breakfast'. The next morning, breakfast had turned into a meal one would normally expect at a major buffet dinner; in addition to the normal Irish cereals, every conceivable cooked meat and cheese was on offer and much more. There was enough for the full party travelling behind never mind the advance party of six. Clearly, they had overestimated the quantity and variety of foods the Irish eat for breakfast. More surprises were in store at lunch - wine on tap, and the vanguard were not slow to partake in the French custom; however, when the hosts also insisted in the party drinking copious amounts of the local cider - as popular in this part of France as wine- they were hooked on it. By the time the party set out on its first reconnaissance on a very sunny warm afternoon they were a happy bunch. But an important mission had to be completed - each route for the marchers who were to follow on in two days had to be plotted and checked. The routes were planned on very minor country roads for safety reasons. Many of these had no sign posting or road numbers so it was important that the plotting of the route was accurate. It was also necessary to establish that the roads were suitable for the coach.

Comdt O'Flanagan was the driver of the recce car. Lt Mullally, route planner, set in the front and the three syndicate guides (the corporals in the advance party) set in the back. As they travelled the route, Lt Mullally called back instructions/road junctions/landmarks/references to the guides who were to take notes. Thus each syndicate would have a guide each who would be familiar their particular route. However, at some stage along the route the route planner noted that it was some time since any of the guides had acknowledge the instructions. On checking, he found that a combination of wine, cider and the warm weather had taken their toll and that all three guides were fast asleep. Things were looking precarious at an early stage.

The main party under the command of Comdt Joe Finegan arrived at Le Havre on Monday 2nd October and quickly settled in to Quartier Fardherbee in Rouen. Immediately, HQ staff swung into action. The Adjutant for the trip was Capt O'Reilly (who was to fly out later), and Q came under Lt Colm O'Neill. BQMS Paddy McDonnell acted as sergeant major and proved himself during the trip as the BSM in waiting. He ensured throughout the trip that things ran smoothly and efficiently and in this he was ably assisted by CQMSs Kit Molloy (A Coy) and Derek Fitzgerald; the Scribe, Sgt Brian O'Miochain; Medic, Sgt John Fitzpatrick; and MP, Cpl O'Shea. Comdt O'Flanagan and Lt Mullally also made up HQ Group.

The Battalion looked very smart on and off parade. (The French, in the various camps which we would visit, hadn't realised that the Irish party were part-timers and were surprised when told so).

Quartier Faidherbee was situated in a forest a few kilometres from Rouen and the facilities were excellent even thought it had no official bar. However, this did no deter many a man from the 20th from souring supplies. The French were initially somewhat reserved at the arrival of the Irish. This may have been because they thought we were from another english speaking country close by. This soon changed and before long bartering between the two commenced in earnest. The Irish appeared to get better bargains; shamrock lapel pins (given freely and in abundance by Bord Failte before they left Dublin) were being exchanged for all sorts of French medals, souvenirs etc. 20 Inf Bn/College des Irlandais T-shirts as well as Capital Radio T-shirts were much in demand. The latter traded as the official Defence Forces radio station T-shirt.

The next day, the serious business of marching began. Three syndicates led by Lts Paddy Bannon, Jack Kinnane and Jerry Hanrahan took to the roads of France each carrying a company pennant of 20 Inf Bn. The march commenced West of Le Havre about 12 km from Pont de Tarcarville which should be familiar to those who use Le Havre. The first drop off was in a village called Aizier on the edge of a large forested area within an "isle" of the Seine called Forét de Brotonne. Other villages on the route included Pont de Brotonne, Bliquetuit la Milleraye, Jumieges, le Mesril, Yville sur Seine, la Bouille and finishing at Canteleu, a suburb on the western side of Rouen. The route included three ferry crossings of the Seine as the river meanders its way through lovely countryside between Pont du Tancarville and Rouen. It was made all the more enjoyable by the goodwill and curiosity of the local French. Our Interpreter, 2/Lt Conor Balfe had arranged for the printing of handouts in French which explained the origins of the battalion and the purpose of the trip. This proved invaluable to the marchers who distributed them freely to both village and country folk alike. It was probably invaluable to Lt Kinnane when he managed to have Syndicate No 3 invited for drinks and other sustenance in the garden of a friendly local farmer. It was incidents like this that made the trip all the more enjoyable.

Lunch 'in the field' was provided by Q staff. Again, OC 20 Inf Bn had procured ration packs before departure from Dublin even if many were close to 'best before date'. Many were to regret not checking the date before consuming the packs. The QM, Lt O'Neill was one of those to suffer, although he put it down to food which was served by our French hosts. He recovered in due course and most enjoyed the food and rest provided en route particularly as the weather was so fantastic and remained so until Paris was reached.

The second military camp the party stayed in was Quartier Tilly in Evreux. It was home to a paratroop company commanded by a Capt Phenbantith, from Vietnam. One generally associates paratroop soldiers as big, mean and burly. Not so Capt Phenbantith, he was quiet small in stature and very friendly and courteous. Like Rouen, the hospitality by our French hosts was exceedingly good and no effort was spared to make us feel at home. The captain had his own private bar and two particular traditions encountered was the slashing off of drink bottle caps with a machete and drinking champagne from the Adjutant's boot. (That's the French Adjutant's boot - not Capt O'Reilly's).

The second day of the march brought the party back to the banks of the river Seine. Starting on the outskirts of the eastern side of Rouen beside Boos airport, the syndicates headed south until they reached the Seine at Pitres. From there they followed the banks of the meandering river through wooded countryside and visiting Amfreville, Cornelles, Herqueville, Miuds, la Roquette and finishing in Thruit just outside les Aidelys.

The next day, the marchers set out from east of Evreux at Pacy along a route parallel to the A15 motorway and finished just outside St Germain on the outskirts of Paris and just to the north of Versailles. Three days of re-lay marching had brought the party very close to the objective. The greater part of the route from La Havre to Paris had been covered by foot. Phase 1 of the Mission had been completed. Phase 2, the ceremonies at the Irish College, lay ahead and to plan and execute this phase required a move closer to the objective.

So, on Friday 6th October 1989, Meitheal na Fraince moved to its final destination at Versailles. Quartier Joffre Drouot, Satory was quiet a large military emplacement by Irish standards. It housed 2e Régiment de Commandement et de Southien and their military hardware alone was an eye opener. Military vehicles of all sorts lined up in what looked like endless lines. No shortages here.

On the afternoon of reaching Versailles, the party set out for College des Irlandais. While we had permission to wear uniforms in France generally, this permission did not extend to Paris except inside the confines of the College. Problems arose when, due to the narrow streets and erratic car parking in the vicinity of the College, the bus encountered great difficulties negotiating the narrow streets. At one stage, Lt Kinnane and other volunteers manhandled a parked car to enable the bus to negotiate a corner but it could still not reach the College. Eventually, Irish soldiers had to run (literally) the risk of been caught in uniform on the streets of Paris and breaking some important French convention. Workmen were still busy putting the final touches to the renovation works as the Party arrived in small groups. Rehearsals for the following day's ceremony began in earnest and for the ordinary soldier it probably seemed that rehearsal in France were no different to those back in Ireland. Eventually, the party returned to Versailles for the evening.

The town of Versailles was quiet lively and most of the party will cherish fond memories of the restaurants, cafés and bars frequented while there. In Satory, 2e Régiment were very proud of its traditions and their members seemed quiet anxious to part with regimental medallions, pennants, regimental history books and other military paraphernalia. FCÁ members were only too willing to trade with them and cap badges, buttons and even parts of uniforms were, apparently, handed over in exchange. Some members of Meitheal na Fraince are now the proud owners of the French ceipée as a result of their visit to Satory. The French always sang as they marched about - maybe this was just to impress the Irish. The refrain of the regimental song, Dans la bat-tille, Ja mais se-cond Aubout Du Monde ils i-nant, was quickly learnt by the visitors. Selected personnel also were given the opportunity to fire the standard French infantry assault rifle, the 5.56 mm FAMAS, in a 100m indoor range. One of the characteristics of the weapon is a setting which permits firing of bursts of three rounds.

The weather up to Friday had been glorious; on Friday the clouds had arrived and Saturday was dull and threatening. Much work in preparation of the College ceremonies still lay ahead; uniforms had to be pressed and inspected, rehearsals to be carried out, soldiers fell in for long periods were the order of the day. However, by late afternoon, the principal participants including An Taoiseach, Charles J Haughey, the Primate of All-Ireland, Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiach, The Minister of State for European Affairs, Ms Maire Geoghan Quinn and a French Government Minister had arrived and the official ceremonies had commenced. There was a definite sense of occasion and air of excitement about and there is little doubt but that the presence of a large body of (Irish) soldiers on parade added significantly to the event. There was also a large media presence and RTÉ captured Meitheal na Fraince for the 9 o'clock News back in Ireland.

Following the ceremony, an official reception was held. Drink was (too) freely available and many a story can be told about that evening and night. The Cardinal had quite an enjoyable night with a group of FCÁ personnel. The following morning, Meitheal na Fraince were back at the College where Mass was celebrated. Due to the size of the chapel, they had to remain outside in the courtyard. An Taoiseach took a salute on his way into the chapel from an FCÁ Honour Guard under the command of Lt Paul Mullally. He bowed before OIC Guard during the salute - probably the one and only time he bowed to anyone. Following the Mass, Meitheal na Fraince, An Taoiseach and the Cardinal joined in a rendition of Molly Malone to the delight of all present. Photographs to be treasured were taken in abundance.

This ended the official functions in France. The Mission were accomplished and judged to be a complete success. However, there was one more (unofficial) task still to be undertaken - the Liberation of (Meitheal na Fraince in) Paris. And so it was.

To coin a phrase, "time spent on reconnaissance is time well spent". Our bus driver, Alan Martin, was married to a Parisian, knew the City well and brought the group on a bus recce of certain quarters of the city. Unlike the recce undertaken by the advance party, everyone on the bus stayed awake and took careful notes of places to which they wished to return. Stories abound concerning the exploits of many of our volunteers. How many of these were wishful thinking or down to the effects of alcohol may never be known. Suffice to say that they cannot be printed here. We also understand that the Cardinal was not part of this phase. One story that can be retold concerns one of our CQMSs. While most of the others were busy sampling the livelier parts of Paris, he decided to take a tour of its cathedrals and churches and somehow missed the bus which returned the troops to Satory at quiet a late hour. Goodness knows what time churches close in Paris. It was assumed that the CQMS had returned to Satory at a respectable hour and it was some time after the group had retired to bed before the alarm was sounded and panic set in. Search parties were organised to return to Paris but just in the nick of time, our CQMS arrived back to Satory by taxi. Only he could attempt to explain what happened - but don't ask.

On Monday, after a most memorable trip Meitheal na Fraince set out for La Havre and Rosslare. Fifty eight members of An FCÁ and 20 Infantry Battalion had made history.

For more pictures of this trip Click Here