Toulouse and Cork, my two home cities, the two rebel cities

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Anne O’Mahoney, Toulouse, France

I have been living in Toulouse in southwest of France for 30 years; a long time indeed. I initially left Cork city to learn French in the early 80s while still at UCC. I met up with a French man and decided to live a while in the land of Molières. A while has turned into a lifetime. Time flies.

I have been lucky enough to live in many different parts of France - Rennes, Nice, Clermont-Ferrand, Paris - but Toulouse is now definitely home. My girls, Lily and Abby were born here and I think they are very French.They are completely bilingual and have a strong Irish identity despite their dark brown eyes and Toulousian accents. They have given me roots here.

I work as head of the Humanities department and am also the debating coach in ISAE Supaero, a graduate aerospace engineering school. One of our past pupils is Thomas Pesquet, the French and European astronaut, who is currently part of the team on the International Space Station. I enjoy my work immensely.

Toulouse, the home of Airbus, is a very cosmopolitan city and has strong connections with Spain, since many Spanish republicans who fled Franco took refuge here. They have given Toulouse a very Spanish-like lifestyle. Life in Toulouse is easy going and the city is young and vibrant. The city comes alive in the evening while the sun sets on the Garonne river. The weather here is fine most of the time and I cycle to work every day along the Canal du Midi, probably the most beautiful and most well-known stretch of inland waterway in Southern France.

Toulouse has given me great friends too, some local and others coming from all over the world. My lifestyle is certainly very French except maybe for all the Barry’s tea I drink. I rarely speak English outside work. There are some other Irish living here too but I think most of us blend in with the local population, except perhaps during the rugby tournaments.

I adore going home to Cork (it’s “home” too) at least once a year to see all the family, breathe some Cork air up on Gardiner’s Hill and head down to Allihies in West Cork for a break. Toulouse and Cork, my two home cities, the two rebel cities!

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