Emmett McIntyre's blog

The last Celtic Feast day of the year is Lughnasa, also spelled Lughnasadh, the harvest festival  observed August 1st and which is named after the Celtic God Lugh. God of the sun, light and harvests, Lugh was a great warrior. According to the Ulster Cycle he fathered the legendary Cú Chulainn and is linked to a number of sites in Ireland.

The passing of the 1536 and 1542 Acts of Union made English the language of law and administration of government. Although the Welsh language was not banned, it lost its status and centuries of steady linguistic decline followed.  Until the mid-19th century, the majority of the Welsh population could speak Welsh – more than 80%. The 2001 census showed that 20.8% of the population was able to speak Welsh (582,400 people), an increase compared to the 1991 census (18.7%).

From the Scotland Herald:

Here is a story about government officials travelling round the Highlands and Islands in the 19th century and when they arrived in one particularly remote community asked locals where their leaders were. “They are away running Canada," came the reply.

This Saturday sees the 150th anniversary of the act of the British Parliamentcoming into force, which effectively founded the country.

Haunting remains of the Arichonan township, a Scottish village cleared during the Highland Clearances (Photo: Jan Holm / Shutterstock) - complimnets of Inews

Seven years in to the “20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030", the Gaelic League have condemned the action of the new Irish Prime Minister’ to downgrade the Gaeltacht in a move that has set off alarm bells amongst supporters of the Irish Tongue. Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League) have expressed “Serious Concern” that “Gaeltacht” is no longer specifically mentioned in the title of the state department with responsibility for Gaeltacht and Gaelic Language affairs.

Submitted by Padrig Morin

Breton Saint: Sant Ronan - Saint Ronan

Sant Ronan (also called Reun in Breton) was born in Ireland in the 5th century from pagan parents. He travelled to Brittany where he landed in Pors Liogan in Leon province circa 500. there an angel requested him to go and live in Breton Cornwall ( village of locronan) to save his soul. He may still have been weak in his new faith at the time. His pagan parents were converted by Sant Padrig (Saint Patrick) .

The Scotsman has an article, linked below, highlighting an historical map of the Gaelic language in Scotland which, among other things, illustrates the effectiveness of the British governments persecution of the Gaelic tongue: “Published in 1895, the map which charts the prevalence of Gaelic speaking in Scotland, is the first of its kind. Produced by Edinburgh map company Bartholomew’s, the map contains information distilled from the first census, in 1881, that counted Gaelic speakers in Scotland.”

The Irish language spoken in Ireland today is the direct descendant without break of the language our ancestors spoke in those far off days. A vessel for three thousand years of our history, the language is for us precious beyond measure. As the bearer to us of a philosophy, of an outlook on life deeply Christian and rich in practical wisdom, the language today is worth far too much to dream of letting it go. To part with it would be to abandon a great part of ourselves, to loose the key to our past, to cut away the roots from the tree.

These are excerpts from an article originally posted October 2016. The full article, which discusses the connection between the Beltane Stone Circle and Beltane worship is linked below:

The Beltane Fire Festival to be held at Edinburgh’s Calton Hill on April 30 – May 1, 2017 is the premier event celebrating the Celtic Festival of Beltane. The international prestige of Beltane Fire festival grows stronger every year.  The Beltane Fire festival was first held in 1988 and has developed its own traditions built on the legacy of 2,500 years of Beltane observances. The Beltane Fire Society is a Community Arts Performance Charity that hosts the Beltane Fire Festival as well as Halloween's Samhuinn (Samhain) Fire Festival.