Eibhlin O'Neill's blog

The ill-fated ship passenger liner RMS Titanic was built in the city of Belfast (Irish: Béal Feirste) in the northeast of Ireland (Irish: Éire). Titanic sank during her maiden voyage in 1912. At the time, news of the terrible sinking of the Titanic spread around the world and its horror has held a fascination for people every since. Titanic, whose name was derived from Greek mythology and meant gigantic, set out on its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic from Southampton on 10 April 1912.

Grace O'Malley (c. 1530 – c. 1603; Irish: Gráinne Ní Mháille) was chieftain of the Ó Máille clan in the west of Ireland. The only child of Owen Dubhdara Uí Máille, the O’Malley of Umhall Uachtarach, and Margaret Ní Máille. She was commonly known as Gráinne Mhaol (anglicised as Granuaile). A proud and courageous woman, she is a well-known historical figure in 16th-century Irish history. Sometimes known as "The Sea Queen of Connacht" or even “The Pirate Queen” after she inherited her father’s significant shipping and trading business, which was sometimes described as a form of piracy.

Today, Wednesday 21st June, celebrations are taking place in the Celtic nations to welcome the summer solstice. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and in the northern hemisphere it can fall on different dates from year to year between 20 and 22 June. In the southern hemisphere it is between December 20 and December 23. The winter solstice which is the shortest day of the year falls between 20 and 23 December in the north.  In the Celtic homelands in 2017, this will be on 21st December.

There have been calls for the Hill of Tara zone to be declared a National Park in addition to a National Monument. The Hill of Tara (Irish: Teamhair na Rí) in County Meath is an important archaeological complex that contains a number of ancient monuments and was according to tradition, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland. There has been an ongoing campaign to save the prehistoric site from continued damage sustained over many years and prevent further destruction. It has been included in the 15 must-see endangered cultural treasures in the world by the Smithsonian Institution.

'Ireland 2023 will capture the imagination of the world. We promise to stage a Rugby World Cup full of Irish spirit and commercial success, that will help drive rugby's global momentum.'  This is the promise on the official site for Ireland's 2023 Rugby World Cup Bid, which also has information on the Bid Team, Venues and the Bid itself.

News from Irish Branch of the Celtic League:

Saturday’s Lá Dearg in Belfast was an historic day by all accounts.  Irish language speakers and supporters marched for their rights, for equality and for justice through the streets of Belfast with the demand that an Irish Language Act be introduced in the Six Counties.  An estimated 12,000 people attended, mainly from the Six Counties, but with strong contingents of support from Irish speakers from Gaeltacht regions and the Twenty Six Counties.

The President and Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland have both condemned the terrorist attack that deliberately targeted children and teenagers attending a concert in the English city of Manchester last night (22 May 2017). At the time of writing twenty-two people have been killed and at least 59 people injured in a terrorist bombing during an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. Some of those in hospital have life threatening injuries.

Knock (Irish: Cnoc Mhuire) is the village in County Mayo, Ireland where it is said that the Virgin Mary, together with Saint Joseph and John the Evangelist, appeared on 21 August 1879. It was at about 8 o'clock in the evening when fifteen people, whose ages ranged from five years to seventy-five witnessed what they stated was an apparition at the south gable end of the local small parish church of Saint John the Baptist. Behind them and a little to the left of Saint John was a plain altar upon which was a cross and a lamb with adoring angels.

 News from BreizhEire - Bretons in Ireland:

Demat d'an holl/ Bonjour à tous / 

dia dhaoibh uilig / Hi everybody, 

Dear Friends and Brittany lovers, 

FETE DE LA BRETAGNE / NAOMH YVES / BRITTANY'S DAY/ GOUEL ERWAN 

BreizhEire is organising Brittany's day / Fête de la Bretagne 2017 in Dublin 

                       on the 13th of May at The Cobblestone Pub, from 18:00 until late 

                              77 King Street North, Smithfield, Dublin

Demands are growing for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to disclose how Ireland voted on Saudi Arabia's membership of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. According to the UN, the Commission on the Status of Women is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Last month, Saudi Arabia successfully campaigned for a seat on the commission, securing 47 votes, at least five of which are said to have come from European countries.