Blogs

Ireland’s seabed territory is one of the largest in Europe, and more than 10 times Ireland’s land mass. Porcupine Bank is an area of the Irish shelf, on the fringes of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 120miles (200 kilometres) west of Ireland. A recent expedition of Irish waters by the Marine Institute have discovered cold water coral reefs at previously unexplored depths along the Porcupine Bank.

As reported by Celtic News Mannin - Yn Commmeeys Celtiagh:

Shell pull out of Mayo

“It tore the heart out of a community. There was heavy handed policing and brutality towards protesters. Men who had never put a foot wrong in their life were jailed. The military were deployed to obstruct protest. Fishermen’s livelihoods and in some instances their boats were destroyed. There were hunger strikes.

No it wasn’t in some despotic Middle East State or some South American ‘banana republic’ it was Ireland over the last decade.

This article from Celtic News Mannin draws attention to the issue of abortion legislation on the Isle of Man and a research study now being undertaken:

Abortion Research Seeks Answers On Impact of Restrictions

Detail at this link into a study project into abortion on the Isle of Man and the impact that current legislation has on those who must grapple with the decisions and then pursue off Island alternatives should they determine to procced with a termination:

Early Cornish kings feasted on oysters, roast pork and fine wine, archaeologists have found.

Excavations at Tintagel Castle have also revealed they imported bowls from Turkey and glass goblets from Spain.

Findings from a dig last year have been released this week, as archaeologists return to the site to find out how people lived more than 1,000 years ago.

The first research excavations at the castle in decades unearthed finds from the late 5th and 6th Centuries.

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%).

A commemoration was held on Saturday at Lissadell House, Sligo in Ireland to mark the 90th anniversary of the death of Constance Markievicz (February 1868 – 15 July 1927). Known as Countess Markievicz she took part in the 1916 Rising. In the Rising she fought in Dublin's St Stephen's Green where the fighters held out for six days, only stopping when the British brought them a copy of Patrick Pearse's surrender order. She was taken to Dublin Castle and then transported to Kilmainham Gaol.

Scotland's Celtic Psalter dates from the 11th Century and contains hand-written psalms in bold, clear Irish miniscule script giving a text of the Psalms in Latin. The 1,000 years old psalter, which is the oldest Scottish book still in Scotland, has Gaelic and Pictish Celtic illustrations. With its extraordinary illuminations in vivid green, red, purple and gold, it has been described as Scotland's version of the famous Book of Kells in Dublin. The Book of Kells/Leabhar Cheanannais is kept in the library of Dublin's Trinity College and was made by Celtic Monks around 800AD.

The remains of the wooden hut where Saint Columba was thought to have meditated and prayed on Iona have been dated to his lifetime. Saint Columba (Gaelic: Colm Cille) is credited with spreading Christianity in Scotland. He was the great-great-grandson of Niall Noígíallach, Irish high king who reigned in the late 4th and early 5 centuries, and ancestor of the Uí Néill family who were dominant in Ireland from the 6th to the 10th century.

There's a fresh new look for a familiar festival later this month as the much cherished Yn Chruinnaght Inter-Celtic Festival steps forward with a resplendent new make-over, in an effort to introduce Manx and Celtic culture to a wider audience.

With Yn Chruinnaght as the organising force behind the festival, Celtfest Isle of Man will focus this year on a fine selection of upbeat Celtic music, showcasing some of the finest bands and solo artists from Ireland and Scotland - with a number of concerts to suit all tastes at the Centenary Centre in Peel.