New bilingual English/ French launched at Enterprise Centre

By Maurice Garvey

A NEW bilingual English/French audio magazine was established at the start of December by Kimmage businessman Claude Saulnier.

Operating out of Terenure Enterprise Centre, Le Mag Franco-Irish is mixed content bilingual show aimed at francophiles.

Claude presents the show, which features music, interviews, business, practical tips about Ireland and France – a format that can be useful for students learning French in school, or for those who want to brush up on long lost skills.

Mr Saulnier, who runs software and service company Wandsoft, says the new venture is merely a “hobby” and not driven by profits, rather a love of the language.

“I used to work in local radio whilst a student in France, and decided I wanted to share good Franco-Irish music and interviews with Le Mag,” said Claude.

Le Mag Franco-Irish aired it’s first broadcast on December 10, and Claude aims to have a new show once a month.

He continued: “At the moment is it a hobby, I don’t want to put pressure on schedules, but we want to keep good news material, and we are not restricted by advertisements.”

“Interviews can be done in either French or English, or bi-lingual, it depends on the topic. It is a mixed platform, which allows royalties to be paid for music, solving the problem of copyright.

As a younger man, Claude went to the UK on an Erasmus scheme and fell in love with pop and rock music.

He met his Irish wife-to-be in Paris and moved to Ireland in 1999, raising three bi-lingual kids.

“I wasn’t sure when I should start talking to my kids in French when they were born, so I just started from day one,” said Claude.

Discussions are taking place with a FM broadcaster to feature content from Le Mag.

Claude continued: “I’m not in competition with other Franco-Irish groups. I just want to share, and started this venture without thinking too much about it, which allows it to be flexible.”

The first broadcast featured an interview with Adeline Fradet, co-founder of Whisperies.
Visit le.mag.franco.irish for further details.