At 49, Jocelyn Le Gall, from Plouhinec, near Audierne, Finisterre, has lived in Cork, in the south of Ireland, since 2006. “I was the director of Intermarche in Carhaix and before that in Huelgoat. I went to business school in Brest and I always wanted to go abroad… Sometimes in our lives, we have to choose what we are and tell ourselves. Doing? Are we going there or not? where are we going

You have to have direction, which is very important, and then I focused on three or four possibilities: lThe first was to go with food brands, which sent people overseas but unfortunately that didn't work. I decided to move to Canada, Ireland or Switzerland, and then I thought that Switzerland and Canada would present us with another challenge because the French language is ubiquitous there. I had to look for something else in the language and I chose Ireland, where I arrived in Cork on September 10, 2006.”

The traveling spirit of the Bretons

It is important to emphasize that Bretons have always loved to travel. We have a very developed Breton diaspora abroad, which I think is something that is in the DNA of Bretons. This DNA led me to Ireland, on the other side of the Celtic Sea: Brittany and Ireland have been closely linked for centuries, and I was going to Ireland to discover this not-so-distant country and so similar to who we…

Here, it is like family, we appreciate each other, we understand each other in many ways. I have been in Ireland for fifteen years, and I feel I am in Brittany, and when I come back to Britain, I feel I am in Ireland.

“Brittany is the closest region of France to Ireland.

Jocelyn Le Gall returns regularly as she is involved in the Lorient Interceltic Festival.It is important to emphasize that existing links with Ireland and Brittany allow me to export Brittany to Ireland. As Brittany is well established in Ireland, Irish people know it very well and it is very comforting to feel close to Brittany because it has to be said that Brittany is the territory of France. Closest to Ireland.

Jocelyn is also the president of the association Braish IreSince 2002, many events have been organized unofficially with members and comrades, and then from 2007 to 2008 the structure became official. “This allows us to receive funds from the Brittany region and, moreover, the city of Cork is also close to Rennes, which helps us a lot (…). GIn general, when we get Bretons in Ireland, the city of Rennes receives Irish people in Rennes, which shows the closeness that has existed between these two cities for more than 40 years, which is very important. We celebrated Brittany and we had over a thousand people at this event.

Cork, Ireland

What is Cork City like?

“It's a riotous city, Jocelyn Le Gall replies, Because the riots of 1916 started in Cork and then spread to other parts of the country. Cork is an ultra-dynamic city that has its own charm, but also has a human scale. It's about 200,000 inhabitants, and if the Bretons want to settle here, or the French in general, they can come, it's a beautiful city, very welcoming, with a very significant level of dynamism, because Cork will go through about 25 to 200,000 to 500,000 inhabitants. 30 years.”

Jocelyn Le Gall owns a small business that helps businesses grow in Ireland. “I was recently in Lorient so Breton business leaders could discover Ireland and the export opportunities the country has to offer…Ireland may have 5.5 million inhabitants, but there are opportunities!”