In France， too， Irish students found a welcome and a home. Colleges set apart entirely for their use were opened in Paris， Douay， Lille， Bordeaux， Toulouse， and Nantes. The Irish College in Paris may be said to date from the year 1578， when Father John Lee and a few companions from Ireland took up their residence in the Collège Montaigu. Later on a friendly nobleman， John de l'Escalopier， placed a special house at their disposal， and Father Lee became the first rector of the new seminary， which was recognised officially by the University of Paris in 1624. Later on the Collège des Lombards was acquired， as was also the present house in the Rue des Irlandais. The college in Paris was favoured specially by the Irish bishops， as is evident from the fact that in the year 1795 more than one-third of the Irish clerical students on the Continent were receiving their training in the French capital. The seminary in Douay was founded by Father Ralph Cusack in 1577. At that time Douay belonged to the Spanish Netherlands， and the Irish seminary participated in the boundless generosity of the Kings of Spain. The Irish seminary at Lille was founded also by Father Cusack， and was placed under the control of the Capuchins. Though it was intended principally for the use of students from the province of Leinster， special attention was devoted to the Irish language， without a knowledge of which no person could be appointed rector. The seminary at Bordeaux was founded (1603) by Father Diarmuid MacCarthy， a priest of the diocese of Cork， and later on it received special grants and privileges from the queen-regent， Anne of Austria. The same kind benefactress provided a home for the Irish students at Toulouse (1659)， while a few years later a seminary for Irish students was established at Nantes.
Very early in Elizabeth's reign the question of providing priests for the Irish mission engaged the earnest attention of the Roman authorities. Gregory XIII. had arranged for the establishment of an Irish college in Rome， and had provided the means for its support， but as an expedition was then being prepared to aid James Fitzmaurice in his struggle in Ireland， the project was postponed， and the money was devoted to the purposes of the war. In 1625 the Irish bishops addressed a petition to the Holy See praying for the establishment of an Irish college in Rome. Cardinal Ludovisi， then Cardinal Protector of Ireland， supported strongly this petition. He secured a house for the accommodation of a few students， and in 1628 the college was opened. In his will the Cardinal provided generously for the endowment of the college， and he also expressed a wish that it should be entrusted to the care of the Jesuits. They entered into control in 1635， and directed the affairs of the college till a short time before the suppression of the Society.[87]
Elizabeth and her advisers were not slow to see the danger of allowing Irish youths to be educated in Rome， France， or in the territories of the King of Spain. For years the English government had been advised to take measures for the establishment of a good system of English schools as the best means of conquering the country. It was suggested that with the suppression of the monasteries and the wholesale confiscation of their possessions something might be done by Henry VIII. or Edward VI. for the cause of education.[88] But these hopes were doomed to speedy disappointment. The revenues of the religious houses， which had provided centres of learning for the boys and girls of the country， found their way into the royal treasury or into the pockets of the dishonest commissioners， and no educational establishments were erected in their place. The Deputy did， indeed， inform the canons of St. Patrick's， Dublin， that their church should be converted to a better use， namely， a university， but the promise was made only to induce them to surrender without a struggle. The valuable church plate， crosses， etc.， were melted down and handed over to the mint.[89]
At the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth a proposal was made to carry out the promise of Henry VIII. by converting St. Patrick's into a university. Archbishop Curwen objected strongly to such a suggestion， nominally on the ground that a university would only serve as an excuse for the Irish rebels to send their sons to the capital to learn the secrets of the Pale， but in reality because he feared that the project would interfere with his own income. At various times and in various forms the plan was brought forward once more. Sir John Perrott was anxious to signalise his term of office as Lord Deputy by the establishment of a university in Dublin， but Archbishop Loftus， who as Archbishop of Armagh had supported the conversion of St.