Alastair Kneale's blog

News from the Celtic League:

Campaign groups are expressing concern that deaths in prison are not being investigated ‘quickly or rigorously enough’ according to a report for BBC Cymru this week:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44072973

News from the Celtic League:

Within weeks of being elected President Emmanuel Macron was being lowered onto a French Navy ballistic missile submarine ‘Le Terrible’ of the coast of Brittany. Its reported he was present on the vessel when it dived and simulated a missile launch. Macron ‘a la’ Trump also made sure his perilous descent had an airing on his twitter feed (see pic). This man is more a ‘showman’ than a Statesman

News from the Celtic League:

NATO's military exercise ‘Joint Warrior’ held last month over a two week period appears to have passed off without incident although in the past the exercises have provoked protests from fishermen and environmentalists.

Joint Warrior exercise are usually held twice yearly however this year apparently the Highlands and West of Scotland will get a respite because with NATO forces committed fully to the defence of Western Europe it appears they will not have enough capacity to ‘play soldiers’ in the Autumn.

News from The Celtic League:

A former British soldier is to stand trial following a killing in the North of Ireland forty years ago.

A court bid aimed at stopping the prosecution of a former British soldier has been rejected, amid a political controversy over whether other veterans should be handed an amnesty.

Dismissing a defence application to stay the prosecution of pensioner Dennis Hutchings, a judge in Belfast said he was satisfied the defendant, from Cawsand Torpoint in Cornwall, could receive a fair trial.

News from Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Mannin Branch Celtic League:

‘Cultural’ v ‘Political’ Nationalism It's a Complex Issue

I saw this item recently on Manx Radio and was struck by the reference to Aeglagh Vannin established by Mona Douglas being set up to inspire a generation of ‘cultural’ nationalists:

The Manx name for May Day is "Laa Boaldyn" and it is thought that the word Boaldyn derives from "boal" (wall) and "teine" (fire). In the old Manx calendar this day was celebrated on May 12 and was called Shenn Laa Boaldyn (Old May Day). Boaldyn, is known as 'Bealtaine' in Ireland and 'Bealltainn' in Scottish Gaelic, it marks the beginning of summer and is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals. In the Isle of Man (Mannin) the use of fire was one of a number of customs used at this time of year, to fend of witches and evil spirits.

Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin draws attention to this article in The Belfast Telegraph. It looks at the Harvard Archaeological Mission to Ireland in the 1930's in their search for the origin of the Celts. The archaeolgy advisor to the mission was the then director of the National Museum of Ireland, Adolph Mahr. Dr. Adolf Mahr (7 May 1887 - 27 May 1951) was an Austrian archaeologist who was Gruppenleiter (group leader) of the Dublin branch of the Nazi Party Auslandsorganisation (NSDP-AO).

Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin draws attention to this article about the dodgy dealings of the BBC. The BBC, with its second rate and bias news coverage, actually forces people to pay for its upkeep. The Isle of Man, in particular, should not feel compelled to force its people to pay the BBC Licence fee. The work of the BBC is funded principally by an annual television licence fee costing £150.50  per year. At this time such a licence is required to legally receive broadcast television by all households across the Isle of Man.

News from Manx National Heritage:

MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE BUILDING CONSERVATION FORUM

The Isle of Man’s historic buildings are the focus of international journal ‘Context’

From the stone monuments in our landscape to the architecture of the TT Course, the latest edition of ‘Context’ from the Institute for Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) brings the rich variety of the historic built environment in the Isle of Man into focus for an international audience.