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NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Everyone knows know about the Welsh settlement in Patagonia in the 19th century but details have now emerged of an earlier attempt to form a Welsh colony, i.e. “Y Wladfa”, in South America, this time in Brazil.

The attempt to create a “little Wales” occurred in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul in 1852, about 13 years before the Patagonian venture got underway. 
“Nova Cambria” (New Wales) was founded by Thomas Benbow Phillips (picture) from Tregaron who wanted to set up a community where Welsh language and culture could flourish.

Members of the World Manx Association met in Peel recently for one of their social get-togethers in the historical Sailors' Shelter on East Quay, with an opportunity to chat with friends and learn more about the Isle of Man.

President of the association, Leslie Hanson, had organised a presentation of a DVD written, directed and presented by Charles Guard entitled Manx Mines and Minerals - The story of mining in the Isle of Man.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

“It happened in Wales but it could have happened anywhere that suited the expediency of the British State. The nationals of the Celtic countries were aborigines to be ignored or used!”

Tryweryn and what happened there should matter to all the Celtic countries because it is symptomatic of the contempt which the Westminster government had at the time for the Celtic Nations in the 1950s and 60s.

They were places to be used and places to dump things that you did not want in your own backyard.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Ten years ago Liverpool was told ‘they can keep their apology’ - today the decision to flood the Tryweryn valley is still as controversial!

It is still an emotive issue is Wales and you can still see signs today in parts of North and mid Wales reminding Welsh people of the sense of outrage felt when the Welsh speaking community in the Tryweryn Valley was submerged to provide a reservoir to service Merseyside

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The status of Cornish people as a National Minority has been recognised formally by the United Kingdom. See this link for a statement from the Department of Communities and Local Government:

https://www.gov.uk/…/cornish-granted-minority-status-within…

Also link here for an interview with the BBC given by Loveday Jenkin, deputy leader of Mebyon Kernow the Cornish nationalist party:

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Wales Minister, Alun Cairns has said the flooding of a Welsh Valley in Gwynedd to provide drinking water for Liverpool was "a shameful chapter in Welsh history".

The village Capel Celyn, one of the last Welsh only speaking communities, was flooded 50 years ago to create the Tryweryn reservoir and Cairns said it marked "some of the darkest and some of the most regrettable days in modern Welsh history".

A dozen houses and farms were submerged and 48 people dispossessed.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The decision by the French Senate to once again refuse to ratify the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages once again brings the Charter designed to protect the linguistic and cultural rights of minorities in Nation States into focus.

Link here to Eurolang who call the French senate’s decision a breathtaking disgrace:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php…

Dr. Jenny Butler, a folklorist based at University College Cork's Folklore and Ethnology Department with a PhD thesis on the topic of Irish Neo-Paganism, has narrated an award winning documentary on the origins of Halloween. Dr Butler’s principal interests are in the areas of mythology, belief narratives, folk religion, ritual and festival. A member of The Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions (ISASR), she has numerous articles to her credit. Dr Butler is currently working on a book about Irish contemporary Paganism. A friend and contributor to Transceltic, we congratulate Dr.

With stunning, panoramic views of the coastline and a rich cultural heritage, the seaside resort of Newquay will be the new venue for Cornwall's annual Celtic festival, Lowender Peran, which attracts a number of visitors and performers from the Isle of Man.

The festival is a registered charity, set up to encourage recognition of both Cornwall's heritage and its Celtic links, but also for people in the locality to recognise and value their own roots and identity.