Blogs

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.

The petition against the renaming of the second Severn Crossing to the Prince of Wales Bridge is now approaching 40,000 signatures. This makes it one of the biggest petitions in the history of  Welsh politics. Despite this the Westminster Government’s Welsh Secretary, Alun Cairns MP, had said that the “wider, silent majority is absolutely with us” on renaming the bridge. However, this claim has now been discredited after a YouGov opinion poll commissioned by Nation.Cymru found that only 17% of people in Wales support the name change.  Of those just 7% ‘strongly supported’ the name change.

Canadian media report that Randy Delorey, minister of Gaelic Affairs, revealed a new Gaelic Language license plate at a ceremony Tuesday to mark the 22nd annual Gaelic Nova Scotia Month. “The plate -- which includes the province's Gaelic name, Alba Nuadh -- will be made available for purchase later in May, with proceeds going to Gaelic language and culture initiatives. “This will allow more people to reconnect with their language, culture and heritage and to preserve these for the next generation," Delorey said at Province House.

Breton and Cornish Piran Statue Celebrations in Falmouth

The spectacular Breton sculpture park La Vallée des Saints, (the Valley of the Saints) celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2018 and will mark the milestone by unveiling its 100th giant statue in Falmouth on the 5th May, 2018.

Located on a feudal mound in central Brittany, the park immortalises the priests and monks from Cornwall, Ireland, Wales and Scotland who left their mark on the region 1,500 years ago, such as St Brieuc and St Malo. 

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).

St Andrews University in Scotland is leading research into the stability of a massive Antarctic glacier. In conjunction with US scientists a five-year programme will be undertaken to examine the rapid process of melting that is underway in Thwaites Glacier. It is currently in rapid retreat, accounting for around 4% of global sea-level rise, an amount that has doubled since the mid-1990s.

The first of four Scottish Kiltwalks in 2018 took place on Sunday from Glasgow Green to Loch Lomond and raised £2 million pounds for charity.  The others will be held in Aberdeen on 4 June, Edinburgh on 17 September and St Andrews to Dundee on 20 August. A record number of walkers wearing kilts took part in the event which was open to all charities, so that walkers could raise money for any cause in Scotland they wanted to support.

The Gobbins is a cliff-face path at Islandmagee (Oileán Mhic Aodha), County Antrim, (Contae Aontroma) in the northeast of  Ireland. It is on the Causeway Coastal Route, a driving route from Belfast (Béal Feirste) to Derry (Doire). On the way the Route gives you an opportunity to visit a number of glens and stretches of spectacular coastline.

Ar Redadeg is an organised running event across Brittany involving thousands of people. The aim is to promote the Breton language which is one the last six Celtic languages spoken in the world today, the others being Cornish, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. The event takes place every two years in support of various projects related to the Breton language. 

An 800 year old relic stolen from Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral in 2012 has been found six years after its theft. In a intelligence led operation the Irish police (An Garda Síochána) found the missing heart of Lorcán Ua Tuathail, also known as Saint Laurence O'Toole (1128 – 14 November 1180), undamaged and wrapped in plastic in Phoenix Park (Páirc an Fhionnuisce). It has been reported that a tip-off led to the discovery and it has been suggested that the unidentified thieves were anxious for its return as they thought it was cursed and caused family members' illnesses.