The Rev. Liam Swords Foundation
Liam Swords was born in
Swinford, Co. Mayo, Ireland in 1937. As a young cleric in the 1960s he
realized the power of media and was very involved in the popular TV
series 'Radharc'. Fr. Swords was an active historian and accomplished
author whose many publications included stories of the Irish in Paris
during the French Revolution. In the 1970s he became the first Irish
priest to take up residency in the Irish College in Paris since the
1950s. He was a much loved chaplain who was instrumental in creating a
strong Irish cultural community in Paris and encouraging national
interest in the development of the Irish College into a vibrant cultural
centre and residency for Irish students. In 1995 Fr. Liam Swords
returned to Dublin where he continued his life as a researcher and
published books on the history of Achonry diocese.
Fr. Liam Swords valued his time abroad and sought before his death in
2011 to establish a Foundation which would help other Irish students or
researchers spend time in Paris as part of their studies. This
Foundation is being administered by Trustees in Ireland and will offer a
bursary annually to an Irish student to spend up to 3 months in
Paris, resident in the Centre Culturel Irlandais in the old Irish College.
In the words of the Rev. Liam Swords
'the aim is to establish a grant for a student of talent from the Irish Higher education sector to pursue his/her studies/research/training for an academic year in Paris and to immerse themselves in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. Candidates will be chosen from the widest possible groups, e.g., musicians, artists, sculptors, writers, scientists, engineers, scholars, craft-workers, theologians, architects, students of haute cuisine or haute couture, cinematographers etc.'
