Blogs

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be the first serving head of government to address the Seanad, the upper house of the Irish parliament, when she visits Dublin later this month. The First Minister will also have meetings with Irish President Michael D Higgins and Charlie Flanagan minister for foreign affairs and trade. Nicola Sturgeon is seeking to strengthen Scotland’s relationship with Ireland saying that there was a "long tradition of co-operation" between Scotland and Ireland.

Media Release from Kernow Matters To Us:

The Westminster Government announced yesterday that despite a petition which included thousands of signatures, it no longer intended to financially support the indigenous Cornish language. 

It is now in clear breach of its legal obligations agreed and signed off in 2002.

As a recognised indigenous national minority, one might expect the Cornish to get at least a Trident's tailfin worth of support from the UK government, but no such support has been forthcoming since they ended their token funding more than a year ago.

Loch Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Nis) is a place of great beauty, surrounded as it is by spectacular scenery.  The Loch is a maximum of twenty two and a half miles (36.2km) long with a maximum width of just over one and a half miles (2.7km) and at its deepest is over 754 feet (230m).

News from the Celtic League:

A good article in Scotland’s’ independence supporting newspaper THE NATIONAL about the increasing numbers of Golden Eagle in the Highlands:

“Duncan Orr-Ewing, head of species and land management at RSPB Scotland, said:

“The sight of a golden eagle soaring in the sky above is an awe-inspiring part of our natural heritage, and this increase in numbers of golden eagle pairs is great news.

News from Kernow Matters To Us:

The Boundary Commission Hearings taking public comment about the unlawful Devonwall proposal to gerrymander Cornwall's time honoured border commenced at 10am Thursday 10th November, 2016 in the main conference chamber at Cornwall Council, Truro.

Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) is hailing the modest commitment to Irish Medium education in the Gaeltacht (Irish Speaking Areas) announced by Dublin. That said, this government has proven time and time again that it is no friend to Gaelic. A government which has mastered the art of benign neglect toward the ancient Celtic tongue of the land, Ireland’s most precious asset.

There's a special treat for ornithologists later this month, with a joint presentation organised by members of both the Manx Ornithological Society and the local charity Manx Bird Life.

This inaugural conference, which celebrates the Island's population of wild birds, will be introduced by the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Richard Gozney, before a number of experts will discuss a range of subjects at the Manx Museum lecture theatre.

Earlier this year Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) flexed its electoral strategy skills in the run up to the elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The League supported candidates responsive to the concerns of the Irish language community and supporters of the Gaelic Language. 

At this time of year Scotland faces the winter storms that bite into its coastline. This is true of Orkney (Scottish Gaelic: Arcaibh), an archipelago situated off the north coast of Scotland. While the erosion caused by these stormy seas combined with high tides can be a threat, they can also reveal some long held ancient secrets. Such as when recently an 8th century Pictish stone was found in an eroding cliff face in on the east Mainland coast of Orkney. Mainland is the largest island in the Orkney group. 

News from the Celtic League:

The independence supporting Scottish daily newspaper ‘The National’ is pledging its support to a project to create an Iron Age visitor attraction to rival attractions in other Celtic countries.

The Caithness Broch site project has already attracted widespread support online and it’s hoped the momentum will see a visitor centre and spin off further research about the iconic site.

The National says: