International Relations
Dail Éireann — 2026-10-01
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Barry Heneghan (IND), Dublin Bay North

I have spoken to the Minister about this before but one person who brings much of the shared history together is General Charles de Gaulle. His ancestry comes through the McCartan family from County Down. His ancestors served in the Berwick's Regiment as part of the great Wild Geese tradition. Ireland fascinated the de Gaulle family intellectually. His grandmother, Josephine Marie Anne Maillot, wrote a biography of Daniel O'Connell, which de Gaulle read as a young man. When he came to Ireland, he met Éamon de Valera at Áras an Uachtaráin in Phoenix Park. This is, therefore, a tangible connection. We also will have a physical connection with the Celtic interconnector. Will the Minister engage with the OPW and French authorities to investigate a permanent commemoration? Potentially, that could take the form of the naming or co-naming of an appropriate section of Chesterfield Avenue in honour of Charles de Gaulle and the enduring Franco-Irish friendship. It would cost relatively little but its symbolism would endure for generations.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-10-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:01:00+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-10-01