Celtic Culture & heritage

Galatasaray Celtic 0-0 (5-4), 12 January 2014 - An ordinary game with a great ignored story

The Celtic football club from the city of Glasgow (A in the map) in Scotland travelled to Antalya (C), southwestern Turkey, in January 2014 for a football tournament. In the final of this tournament they met Galatasaray from the city of Istanbul (B), based in the European part of the city, also in Turkey. The city of Istanbul is divided into two parts by the Bosphorus Strait which joins the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.

Glasgow is 3600 km away from Istanbul and yet these teams are sisters, probably without there being an awareness of this by the managers, the players and even less the fans. I wasn't aware of it either in 2014.

Echoes of the “Auld Alliance” and Joan of Arc reverberate around ruins of Ardstinchar Castle in Scotland

Above the Scottish coastal village of Ballantrae (Scottish Gaelic: Baile na Tràgha) stands the ruin of Ardstinchar Castle, a reminder of Scotland's Auld Alliance. The Auld Alliance (Scots for "Old Alliance"; Scottish Gaelic: An Seann-chaidreachas) was an alliance made in 1295 between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. The uniting factor in this long-lasting association between the two countries, which was never actually officially revoked, was their numerous conflicts with England. Ardstinchar Castle was built in the fifteenth century by Hugh Kennedy, one of the sons of Sir Gilbert Kennedy of Dunure. He was known as "Friar Hew" as he was a fully-ordained Dominican priest. Also he is famously described as Joan of Arc's (French: Jeanne d'Arc) Scottish Captain. There is an excellent biography available about this fascinating man written by Jean Brittain Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar: Joan of Arc's Scottish Captain.

Origin of the Celts - "Celtic From The West” Theory Puts Celtic Homelands On Western European Atlantic Coast

Celtic Hegemony In Europe And Beyond At Its Height

Extent of Celtic spread 2000 BC

At one time the Celtic peoples were spread over large parts of Europe and beyond. It is known  that by around 275 BC, the Celts' influence and power stretched from the Atlantic seaboard in the west of Europe and included parts of the Iberian peninsula, the islands of Britain and Ireland, much of Western and Central Europe, part of Eastern Europe and into central Anatolia. There can be little doubt that the Celts viewed themselves in that period as an identifiable separate ethnically similar people speaking related Celtic languages. Sculptures carved at the time and found in many parts of Europe project a similar image of themselves over a significant geographical spread.

The question of where the Celts originated prior to this great expansion has been the subject of much research over recent years. In particular the hypothesis of “Celtic from the West”, raised by a number of those studying the subject including Barry Cunliffe archaeologist and academic, who was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007 and now Emeritus Professor and his colleague John T. Koch, who is an academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies. The theory being that the Celtic-speaking peoples emerged from the communities living along Europe’s western coastal regions during the Bronze Age.

Mysterious Remains Of The Pagan Lady Found In A Manx Castle

Freja

During excavations the remains of a 10th century woman was uncovered in a stone lined grave at Peel Castle (Manx: Cashtal Purt ny h-Inshey) on the Isle of Man (Manx: Mannin). Buried with her was a stunning necklace, which retained the superb colours of glass, amber and jet. There were also other interesting and mysterious objects beside her. Amongst them was an ammonite fossil. Ammonites are creatures that lived in the seas between 240 - 65 million years ago, when they became extinct along with the dinosaurs. This could possibly have been a talisman. She also had a miniature mortar and pestle, a long iron rod down by her side covered in textile, feathers and seeds, and feathers from a goose wing were in the grave.

Scottish Pirate Captain Kidd And Legend Of His Buried Treasure

Captain Kidd burying treasure

The Scottish city of Dundee (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Dè or Dùn Dèagh) stands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay (Scottish Gaelic: Linne Tatha) which feeds into the North Sea on Scotland’s eastern coast. There are many notable people who were born or associated with Dundee, but there are few who have so much myth and legend surrounding them than Captain William Kidd. This notorious Scottish pirate was born in Dundee in around 1655. He emigrated to New York and is thought to have become a seaman's apprentice and then by 1689, was a member of a French–English pirate crew sailing the Caribbean. On one such voyage William Kidd became a captain. In 1691 he met and married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort, a wealthy New York widow.

During the war between England and France in the 1690’s, Captain Kidd became a successful privateer in charge of the vessel Blessed William. He was part of a small fleet defending the small English island colony of Nevis and American and English trade routes with the West Indies. The English did not pay the sailors for their defensive services, telling them instead to gain their income  from the capture of enemy ships that had valuable cargo. These actions also included the attack and plunder of ports on French island colonies.

Amelia Earhart: American aviation pioneer with a special connection to Wales and Ireland

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart (July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937) was an American aviation pioneer and author. She was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and was also a member of the National Woman's Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Her first flight across the Atlantic was undertaken with Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon and after departing from Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland, in a Fokker F.VIIb/3m on June 17, 1928, she landed at Pwll near Burry Port, South Wales, 20 hours and 40 minutes later.

For the past 90 years the people of this part of Wales have commemorated her achievement. So proud are they of this connection to the American aviator a rivalry has developed between the Carmarthenshire villages of Burry Port (Welsh: Porth Tywyn) and its neighbour Pwll, just two miles away. As both Welsh villages claim to be the place where Amelia Earhart touched down to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic.

The Surprising Link Between The Pilates Physical Fitness Method and Manx Cats

Joseph Pilates

Pilates is a physical fitness method developed in the early 20th century. According to supporters of this exercise system regular pilates can improve posture, muscle tone, balance and joint mobility and at the same time relieve stress and tension. It was created and promoted by German-born Joseph Pilates (December 9, 1883 - October 9, 1967). Less well known is how Joseph Pilates observation of cats when interned as an “enemy alien” during the First World War influenced his development of the exercise. It happened in the Isle of Man (Manx: Mannin), the Celtic island located in the heart of the Irish Sea.

In the Isle of Man, close to the small village of Kirk Patrick (Manx: Skyll Pherick), was once located Knockaloe Internment Camp, which was constructed at the time of the First World War. This catastrophic global conflict originated in Europe and lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. It is estimated that this war resulted in the death of over nine million combatants and seven million civilians. Amongst the victims of this conflict were also those civilians that were viewed at the time as being of enemy nationality. So called “enemy aliens” had their movements restricted during this period which also saw the development of internment camps.

Brittany's Cairn of Barnenez - A Neolithic Wonder

Cairn of Barnenez

The Cairn of Barnenez (Breton: Karn Barnenez) is one of the earliest megalithic monuments in Europe and one of the oldest man-made structures in the world. Dating to the early Neolithic period, about 4800 BC, the structure overlooks the Bay of Morlaix, about 6km (3.7 miles) from Plouezoc'h in Finistère (Breton: Penn-ar-Bed) in the west of Brittany. Predating the pyramids of Egypt, it is 75m .(246ft) long and 25m (82ft) at its widest. The structure was once covered in earth and stands at 8m (26ft) high.

Founder of Royal National Lifeboat Institution motivated by experience of shipwrecks around the Manx coast

Lifeboat

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall as well as the Channel Islands and England. Founded in 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, its name subsequently changed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The Institution is extremely highly regarded for the work it undertakes in often treacherous conditions and the bravery of its crews. Motivated by the selfless aim to save lives, it has saved some 140,000 lives since its foundation, at a cost of more than 600 lives lost in service.

The founder of the RNLI was William Hillary (4 January 1771 – 5 January 1847) who moved to the Isle  of Man (Manx: Mannin) in 1808.  He saw at first hand the many ships being wrecked around the Manx coast and experienced the treacherous nature of the Irish Sea that surrounds the Island. He was inspired to drew up plans for a national lifeboat service manned by trained crews, which was intended not only for the Isle of Man, but for the coasts of all the adjacent islands. He had to campaign hard and be persuasive in garnering support for his proposal, but was successful.

Exclusive Interview with Louise Fraser, Acclaimed Singer-Songwriter, Discussing Release of Epic Battle Song 'Glory', a Tribute to The Battle of Culloden

Glory by Louise Fraser with Martin Tichy

Inspired and dedicated to the fallen clansmen of Culloden, 'Glory' (Louise Fraser and Martin Tichy) was released on April 16 2019, the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden (Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Chùil Lodair) fought on 16 April 1746. 

'Glory' was written by Louise Fraser, produced by Martin Tichy and mixed by Martin Tichy and Dietz Tinhof at Swoon Factory in Vienna. Louise created the music video and the single artwork is by Bader Qabazard.

The song comes together to create a lament that is poignant, dark, but at the same time filled with the pride and defiance of the clansmen that fought and fell on that day. It has been released on iTunes and all the usual streaming sites.

You may have heard Louise's songs on the CW, NBC, Lifetime, or MTV, Jack Black's latest movie, 'Goosebumps' (Sony Pictures), the award winning 'Sharkwater' soundtrack. As well as on countless other projects involving numerous collaborators.

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