Blogs

The website "Gaelport.com" is a good source of information and news on the progress being made to reclaim the Irish tongue from the damage done by the past and present enemies of Gaelic, the Offical Language of Ireland.  From the vicious persecution of Gaelic inflicted on Ireland by the English aristocracy to the misguided action of the Irish government in 1974 to nullify the requirement that civil servants be required to be fluent in Irish, the language of our Celtic heritage has suffered. 

The Cape Breton Post website, under the headline "Gaelic Immersion Will Meet Halloween" reports that instructors at the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts "..will guide Gaelic language students through a series of lessons that remind of the importance of Halloween known as Oidhche Shamhna, in the Gaelic calendar."  Halloween, also known as the Celtic Feast day of Samhain, is rooted in Celtic Mythology and pre-christian Celtic religious practice. A time when the Otherworld opens and Faeries are said to roam and a time of danger for mortals.

A broad coalition, including Rugby Coach Robin McBryde and MP Susan Elan Jones, have called in a letter to Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones, to "abolish the teaching of Welsh as a 'second language' like French or Spanish." The coalition have endorsed the efforts of the Welsh Language Society in this regard.

The remarkable success story in the growth in the fortunes of the Manx Gaelic Language has been the subject of international interest for a number of years. This continues with the visit to the Island of Peter Muhlhausler, professor of liguistics at the University of Adelaide, Australia. As reported in 'IOM Today' Peter Muhlhauser has a particular interest in the language and people of Norfolk Island in the Pacific. Norfolk Island has a historical link with the Isle of Man having been settled by people from Pitcairn Island.

That is the reason the Cornish language is so important.

Some say it dies out but it is again growing in popularity. It never became extinct. It exists in placenames, surnames as well as dialect. Indeed, it was probably spoken within families as well. It has always been a part of life in Cornwall.

Large sums of money are spent maintaining historic buildings but rather less has been spent on the Cornish language. In comparison, things have been done as cheaply as possible. But the Cornish language is both an ancient tongue and a living language.

The Irish Independent reports that the Irish language Group, Stadas,  have filed a formal complaint against the European Union Parliament. The complaint states that Parliamant have failed to fully translate its website into Irish and thus "Violates a range of legal rules and principles."   The complaint further alleges that Parliament have failed to make Irish available on it's website in  "an adequate and proportionate way." 

An online Cornish language radio programme is just under £1000 and four days away from meeting a £5000 fund raising target to build a new website to host the free downloadable podcasts that aim to boost fluency among speakers.

The Irish government have called for the return of the "Annals of Inisfallen".  Jimmy Deenihan, the Irish Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Irish Speaking Areas)  stated that the Irish Governmnet wants them back. An article in the on line "oxfordtimes" quoted Minister Deenihan; "A request will be made by the Irish Govenment to have them returned.

A spokesman for the Welsh Language Commissioner, Meri Huws, has announced an investigation into alleged non-compliance by the Torfaen Council with Welsh law.  The online "southwalesargus" reports: "The Commissioner's office will now see whether the Council is breaching it's statutory duties under the 1993 Welsh Language Act, which forces public bodies to ensure English and Welsh can be used equally when dealing with them."