Can you tell me which colleges provide good scholarships, especially need-based rather than merit-based scholarships in Ireland/France for a Master's?

If you are hoping for pure need-based funding in Ireland or France, you should know upfront that most Master's scholarships in both countries reward merit, not financial hardship. Genuine means-tested support does exist, but in France it is tied to CROUS residency rules, and in Ireland it is mostly limited to a specific fellowship program or post-enrollment emergency funds, so plan your funding strategy around merit scholarships as your main path.

Need-Based Options In France And Ireland

Merit-Based Routes Worth Comparing Too

• France's Eiffel Excellence Scholarship and Erasmus Mundus cover living costs entirely but are strictly merit-based.
• Ireland's Trinity College Dublin, UCD, UCC, and University of Galway offer partial tuition discounts of 2,000 to 5,000 euros or more based on academic excellence.
• The Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship is another merit route worth checking against your profile.

My Advice

Confirm your exact fee status and residency history before you build a funding plan, since France's CROUS grants hinge on tax residency and Ireland's true need-based routes are narrow, so most students in your position should treat strong merit scholarship applications as the realistic backbone of their budget.