The history of the Irish who settled in New Caledonia in the second half of the 19th century, after the annexation of New Caledonia by France in 1853, has been very little studied and remains largely unknown. Most Caledonians of Irish ancestry have utterly lost track and knowledge of their Irish history, culture and traditions. My research, combining archival research and oral history, presently focuses on the Irish who settled on the Grande Terre in the second half of the 19th century. It aims to analyse the roots and routes of the first Irish settlers, the pull and push factors of their migration first to British Australia and New Zealand, and then to French New Caledonia, their integration into this new geographical, ethnic, linguistic and cultural environment, their land and professional opportunities, as well as their social interactions with the British, French and Kanaks. This paper traces the life of Mary Girard, née Allender, in Ireland, Australia and New Caledonia.