Blogs

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

This year’s National Famine Commemoration will take place on Saturday, 12thMay 2018 in University College Cork.  The event will be hosted by University College Cork in collaboration with Cork City Council. The focal point of the 2018 commemoration will be the launch of The Great Irish Famine Online. A replica mud cabin - An Bothán -  has been built on the grounds of University College Cork as part of the National Famine Commemoration event.

Negotiations have now concluded for the community purchase of  the Scottish island of Ulva. The ownership will transfer on 21 June and follows negotiations that were launched about a year ago. North West Mull Community Woodland Company have bought the island after receiving £4.4m from Scottish Land Fund, financed by the Scottish Government, to make the purchase.

The flag of Brittany is called the Gwenn-ha-du, which means white and black in Breton. On Friday the largest Breton flag in the world was laid out on the ground of Roazhon Park, a stadium in Rennes, Brittany. Roazhon is the Breton name for Rennes. The Gwenn-ha-du is 45, 75 meters long and 30.5 meters wide giving a total area of ​​1 395 m2.

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.

Fairburn Tower stands near to the village Muir of Ord (Scottish Gaelic: Am Blàr Dubh) in the Highlands of Scotland. The building was built in 1545 by Murdo Mackenzie on land left to him by King James V of Scotland. The building is now in a very fragile state and could be at risk of collapse. Now there are plans by The Landmark Trust, a building conservation charity, to restore the tower house and bring it back into use. 

Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) decision to license the slaughter of 300 ravens in Perthshire has been widely condemned. A petition to prevent the raven cull has now gained nearly 30,000 signatures. Scottish Natural Heritage have authorised the culling of ravens in Perthshire as part of a five year experiment to see if the breeding of another species of birds would improve if there were less ravens around.

Bravehound is a Scottish charity that supports former servicemen, women and their families. On their website they state "dogs can help heal invisible wounds" The charity provide training and dogs to support veterans, some of whom have post-traumatic stress, mental health issues and physical injury. One man who has told his story is Army veteran Paul Wilkie who thinks that his dog, Irma, saved his life.

Thousands of Scottish independence supporters marched through the streets of Glasgow today. Some estimates put the turnout at 90,000 and the march left Kelvingrove Park at 11:30 and ended with a rally on Glasgow Green. It is one of a series of such events being held across Scotland by the pro-independence organisation All Under One Banner.