Kevin Doyle
@troublesinfrance.bsky.social
PHD History student - University of Limerick
Researching France and the Irish "Troubles (1968-1998) Irish Republicanism, international solidarity.
Researching France and the Irish "Troubles (1968-1998) Irish Republicanism, international solidarity.
Happy to announce that I'm spending the summer in Paris at the Centre Culturel Irlandais to continue my research, having been awarded this year's Rev. Liam Swords Foundation Bursary.
Arrived yesterday, a beautiful building rich in Franco-Irish history
Arrived yesterday, a beautiful building rich in Franco-Irish history
June 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Happy to announce that I'm spending the summer in Paris at the Centre Culturel Irlandais to continue my research, having been awarded this year's Rev. Liam Swords Foundation Bursary.
Arrived yesterday, a beautiful building rich in Franco-Irish history
Arrived yesterday, a beautiful building rich in Franco-Irish history
Delighted to be gifted this iconic edition of Paris Match from August 1969, covering the Battle of the Bogside in Derry. Likely the first introduction to the conflict for much of the French public.
April 30, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Delighted to be gifted this iconic edition of Paris Match from August 1969, covering the Battle of the Bogside in Derry. Likely the first introduction to the conflict for much of the French public.
Spotted in Dublin the other day: Sticker of Ali la Pointe, Algerian freedom fighter and protagonist of the great film "The Battle of Algiers"
April 30, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Spotted in Dublin the other day: Sticker of Ali la Pointe, Algerian freedom fighter and protagonist of the great film "The Battle of Algiers"
Sticker from one of the Irish solidarity groups in Paris in the early 80s. A lot of love put into that British lion caricature
"Ireland - 800 years of colonialism"
"Ireland - 800 years of colonialism"
April 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Sticker from one of the Irish solidarity groups in Paris in the early 80s. A lot of love put into that British lion caricature
"Ireland - 800 years of colonialism"
"Ireland - 800 years of colonialism"
When The Jackal Came To Dublin?
In 1976 you had claims in Irish media, such as this article in the Sunday World, that Ilich Ramirez Sánchez aka "Carlos the Jackal" had been living in Dundrum under the name Carlos Martinez in April 1974 for several months and had received hair/scalp treatment
In 1976 you had claims in Irish media, such as this article in the Sunday World, that Ilich Ramirez Sánchez aka "Carlos the Jackal" had been living in Dundrum under the name Carlos Martinez in April 1974 for several months and had received hair/scalp treatment
April 13, 2025 at 5:51 PM
When The Jackal Came To Dublin?
In 1976 you had claims in Irish media, such as this article in the Sunday World, that Ilich Ramirez Sánchez aka "Carlos the Jackal" had been living in Dundrum under the name Carlos Martinez in April 1974 for several months and had received hair/scalp treatment
In 1976 you had claims in Irish media, such as this article in the Sunday World, that Ilich Ramirez Sánchez aka "Carlos the Jackal" had been living in Dundrum under the name Carlos Martinez in April 1974 for several months and had received hair/scalp treatment
1980 poster from the Irish Political Prisoners Defence Committee in Paris supporting the H-Block prisoners campaign.
"The Irish Prisoners Must Not Die"
"The Irish Prisoners Must Not Die"
April 10, 2025 at 12:26 PM
1980 poster from the Irish Political Prisoners Defence Committee in Paris supporting the H-Block prisoners campaign.
"The Irish Prisoners Must Not Die"
"The Irish Prisoners Must Not Die"
March 1972: Bernadette Devlin, upon arriving in Bordeaux, France, was detained by French police and sent away on the next flight to London.
French Ministry of the Interior - "We have enough troublemakers in the country already without importing them"
(Daily Mirror, March 15 1972)
French Ministry of the Interior - "We have enough troublemakers in the country already without importing them"
(Daily Mirror, March 15 1972)
March 19, 2025 at 10:52 AM
March 1972: Bernadette Devlin, upon arriving in Bordeaux, France, was detained by French police and sent away on the next flight to London.
French Ministry of the Interior - "We have enough troublemakers in the country already without importing them"
(Daily Mirror, March 15 1972)
French Ministry of the Interior - "We have enough troublemakers in the country already without importing them"
(Daily Mirror, March 15 1972)
Karl Marx struggling to find obscure and out-of-print books on Ireland, highly relatable:
March 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Karl Marx struggling to find obscure and out-of-print books on Ireland, highly relatable:
International Women's Day 1980: A protest outside Armagh Gaol for Republican women prisoners, organised by Irish organisation Women Against Imperialism drew 600, including members of the french feminist MLF Mouvement de libération des femmes.
(Photo by Irlande Libre)
(Photo by Irlande Libre)
March 8, 2025 at 5:08 PM
International Women's Day 1980: A protest outside Armagh Gaol for Republican women prisoners, organised by Irish organisation Women Against Imperialism drew 600, including members of the french feminist MLF Mouvement de libération des femmes.
(Photo by Irlande Libre)
(Photo by Irlande Libre)
Bobby Sands began his hunger strike in the H-Blocks this day 44 years ago today
Photo below shows banners hung from Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris by Irish solidarity activists in May of that year [source: AP/RN July 18 1981]
Photo below shows banners hung from Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris by Irish solidarity activists in May of that year [source: AP/RN July 18 1981]
March 1, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Bobby Sands began his hunger strike in the H-Blocks this day 44 years ago today
Photo below shows banners hung from Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris by Irish solidarity activists in May of that year [source: AP/RN July 18 1981]
Photo below shows banners hung from Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris by Irish solidarity activists in May of that year [source: AP/RN July 18 1981]
"For 10 years Ireland has resisted..."
Poster by Irish solidarity group Irlande Libre in 1979. The photo is attributed to Patrick Frilet, a prominent photojournalist who worked for the Libération newspaper.
Poster by Irish solidarity group Irlande Libre in 1979. The photo is attributed to Patrick Frilet, a prominent photojournalist who worked for the Libération newspaper.
February 23, 2025 at 4:34 PM
"For 10 years Ireland has resisted..."
Poster by Irish solidarity group Irlande Libre in 1979. The photo is attributed to Patrick Frilet, a prominent photojournalist who worked for the Libération newspaper.
Poster by Irish solidarity group Irlande Libre in 1979. The photo is attributed to Patrick Frilet, a prominent photojournalist who worked for the Libération newspaper.
Of the cases that went to trial in the following year all three sentences fell short of the sentences recommended by the prosecution. 2/2
February 19, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Of the cases that went to trial in the following year all three sentences fell short of the sentences recommended by the prosecution. 2/2
1997: French authorities claimed to have dismantled a "French based IRA network", largely in Brittany, leading to seven arrests. Ultimately however the prison sentences would prove light for those charged, as was usually the case in France throughout the conflict. 1/2
February 19, 2025 at 8:37 PM
1997: French authorities claimed to have dismantled a "French based IRA network", largely in Brittany, leading to seven arrests. Ultimately however the prison sentences would prove light for those charged, as was usually the case in France throughout the conflict. 1/2
"Ireland: The English Algeria." Cover of the newspaper of the french Parti Socialiste following Bloody Sunday
The PS Mitterand government in 1982 would be implicated in the famous "Irish of Vincennes" case that saw three members of the IRSP framed for an attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris.
The PS Mitterand government in 1982 would be implicated in the famous "Irish of Vincennes" case that saw three members of the IRSP framed for an attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris.
February 11, 2025 at 1:24 PM
"Ireland: The English Algeria." Cover of the newspaper of the french Parti Socialiste following Bloody Sunday
The PS Mitterand government in 1982 would be implicated in the famous "Irish of Vincennes" case that saw three members of the IRSP framed for an attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris.
The PS Mitterand government in 1982 would be implicated in the famous "Irish of Vincennes" case that saw three members of the IRSP framed for an attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris.
Protester at a march for the Irish hunger strikers in Paris, 1981. Sign reads "Thatcher Murderer, She Killed Bobby Sands". Unknown origin
February 6, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Protester at a march for the Irish hunger strikers in Paris, 1981. Sign reads "Thatcher Murderer, She Killed Bobby Sands". Unknown origin
Bloody Sunday was also included as a last minute notice in the previous edition of L'Humanité Rouge the week before.
"It is certain that the Irish people will not forget this massacre perpetrated by the British army of occupation."
"It is certain that the Irish people will not forget this massacre perpetrated by the British army of occupation."
January 31, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Bloody Sunday was also included as a last minute notice in the previous edition of L'Humanité Rouge the week before.
"It is certain that the Irish people will not forget this massacre perpetrated by the British army of occupation."
"It is certain that the Irish people will not forget this massacre perpetrated by the British army of occupation."
Article reacting to Derry's Bloody Sunday in L'Humanité Rouge, paper of the Parti communiste marxiste-léniniste, a french Maoist organisation [February 10 1972]
"The Irish people cry out in their righteous anger: “British imperialism out of Ireland!”"
"The Irish people cry out in their righteous anger: “British imperialism out of Ireland!”"
January 31, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Article reacting to Derry's Bloody Sunday in L'Humanité Rouge, paper of the Parti communiste marxiste-léniniste, a french Maoist organisation [February 10 1972]
"The Irish people cry out in their righteous anger: “British imperialism out of Ireland!”"
"The Irish people cry out in their righteous anger: “British imperialism out of Ireland!”"
Fascinating 1992 article from the Orange Standard, official paper of the Orange Order, in which they compare the North of Ireland to Algeria, and urge Loyalist paramilitaries not to make the same mistakes as the OAS.
January 27, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Fascinating 1992 article from the Orange Standard, official paper of the Orange Order, in which they compare the North of Ireland to Algeria, and urge Loyalist paramilitaries not to make the same mistakes as the OAS.
RA prisoner Pauline Drumm writing about her incarceration in French prison in 1990. Drumm had been arrested alongside Donncha O'Kane and Patrick Murphy, having been accused of carrying out attacks against British bases in Germany. [The Captive Voice Vol. 2 Issue 2.]
January 21, 2025 at 5:21 PM
RA prisoner Pauline Drumm writing about her incarceration in French prison in 1990. Drumm had been arrested alongside Donncha O'Kane and Patrick Murphy, having been accused of carrying out attacks against British bases in Germany. [The Captive Voice Vol. 2 Issue 2.]
October 1981 cover of the Le Peuple Breton, journal of the left wing Union Démocratique Bretonne. The UDB had a close relationship with the Officials/Workers Party.
January 18, 2025 at 10:37 PM
October 1981 cover of the Le Peuple Breton, journal of the left wing Union Démocratique Bretonne. The UDB had a close relationship with the Officials/Workers Party.
An illustrated map produced as a centrefold for the Irlande Libre magazine in 1980 showing key events in Irish Republican history. The French connection to 1798 features prominently, with both the failed Bantry Bay expedition and General Humbert
January 15, 2025 at 1:03 PM
An illustrated map produced as a centrefold for the Irlande Libre magazine in 1980 showing key events in Irish Republican history. The French connection to 1798 features prominently, with both the failed Bantry Bay expedition and General Humbert
A particularly colourful example from 1981 - "Luis Against the Queen of England", in which a Brazilian revolutionary teams up with the IRA, a retired British officer and Colonel Gadaffi to kidnap the Queen from her yacht and demand the reunification of Ireland.
January 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM
A particularly colourful example from 1981 - "Luis Against the Queen of England", in which a Brazilian revolutionary teams up with the IRA, a retired British officer and Colonel Gadaffi to kidnap the Queen from her yacht and demand the reunification of Ireland.
Consistent aspect of the French view of the Irish conflict was the "Troubles thriller". A lot of the popular espionage book series would eventually feature the IRA or some other aspect of the conflict. Unlike English equivalents Republicans are not necessarily the villains
January 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Consistent aspect of the French view of the Irish conflict was the "Troubles thriller". A lot of the popular espionage book series would eventually feature the IRA or some other aspect of the conflict. Unlike English equivalents Republicans are not necessarily the villains
Interview with Malachy McGurran, leading figure of the Official IRA, in the paper of the trotskyist Ligue Communiste [Rouge, 11th March 1972]
"For us the development of the revolutionary struggle in England and Europe is complementary to the struggle we are waging in Ireland."
"For us the development of the revolutionary struggle in England and Europe is complementary to the struggle we are waging in Ireland."
January 9, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Interview with Malachy McGurran, leading figure of the Official IRA, in the paper of the trotskyist Ligue Communiste [Rouge, 11th March 1972]
"For us the development of the revolutionary struggle in England and Europe is complementary to the struggle we are waging in Ireland."
"For us the development of the revolutionary struggle in England and Europe is complementary to the struggle we are waging in Ireland."
In 1969, Jean-Marie Le Pen published this double LP album through his Serp imprint, called "La Révolution irlandaise (Voix et chants) 1916-1922", featuring rebel songs and speeches by Dev among other things, and with liner notes by Le Pen himself. It doesn't seem his interest was reciprocated.
January 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
In 1969, Jean-Marie Le Pen published this double LP album through his Serp imprint, called "La Révolution irlandaise (Voix et chants) 1916-1922", featuring rebel songs and speeches by Dev among other things, and with liner notes by Le Pen himself. It doesn't seem his interest was reciprocated.