Paul Brennan (1939-2003) was an Irish scholar and journal founder and editor.

Life

Paul Brennan was born in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

in Ireland in 1939 and died in 2003. After earning a BA in History from

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, Brennan left Ireland for France in 1963 and read for an English degree at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. He lived in Paris, meeting his wife Nicole in 1965. In May 1968, they both took part in the student protests in Paris. In 1969 was appointed as a lecturer in the English department at the Sorbonne, later dividing his time between the departments of Irish Studies at

Caen University The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

in Normandy, which he headed, and at the Paris III campus of the Sorbonne Nouvelle university. He created a journal called ''L’Irlande politique et sociale'' and for years was co-editor of ''Etudes irlandaises''. He was the long-term vice-president of the CAPES, the competitive recruiting exam for French secondary-school teachers, and President of the SOFEIR (Société Française d’Etudes Irlandaises) for six years. In 1988 Brennan made an extended appearance on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

discussion programme '' After Dark'' alongside, among others,

Roy Bradford Roy Hamilton Bradford (7 July 1921 – 2 September 1998) was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland and a government minister in both the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly. Born in Ligoniel in Belfast, B ...

Henry Kelly Henry Kelly (born 17 April 1946) is an Irish radio and television broadcaster, actor and journalist. Early life Kelly was born in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, and educated at Belvedere College SJ, and at University College Dublin, where ...

, DeLores Tucker,

Eamonn McCann Eamonn McCann (born 10 March 1943) is an Irish politician, journalist, political activist, and former councillor from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 ...

and

Glenn Barr Albert Glenn Barr OBE (19 March 1942 – 24 October 2017) was a politician from Derry, Northern Ireland, who was an advocate of Ulster nationalism. For a time during the 1970s he straddled both Unionism and Loyalism due to simultaneously holdi ...

. In 2021 this programme received a cinema screening during the ''Docs Ireland'' documentary festival in Belfast.Docs Ireland to host ‘Derry Days’ celebration
', ''

Derry Journal The ''Derry Journal'' is a newspaper based in Derry, Northern Ireland, serving Derry as well as County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. It is operated by a Johnston Press holding company entitled Derry Journal Newspapers. The paper is publ ...

'',18 August 2021, accessed 19 August 2021 Paul Brennan is remembered as one of the main movers behind the growth of Irish studies at French universities.

References

External links

*
An Irishman's Diary
', Andy Pollak, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' 16 July 1996, accessed 21 December 2021 *
Obituary
', Sylvie Mikowski, journal of ''The International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures'', 2004, accessed 21 December 2021 *
In Memoriam Paul Brennan
', Bertrand Cardin and Alexandra Slaby, ''Études irlandaises'', 40-1, 2015, accessed 21 December 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Paul 1939 births 2003 deaths