Blogs

All roads lead west on the 9th and 10th August when this year's Royal Manx Agricultural Show opens the gates for yet another fantastic day out for all the family - whatever the weather.

Firmly established as one of the highlights on the rural calendar, the Royal Manx Agricultural Show, now held at Knockaloe Farm just outside Peel, is the culmination of months of hard work from both show participants and committee members, led by Secretary Carol Kennaugh.

And this year Mrs Fiona Moore has been nominated as the first woman President.

The Celtic League have drawn attention to a report from Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).

Reek Sunday (Irish: Domhnach na Cruaiche) takes place on the last Sunday of July. Thousands took part in this years event which involved participants climbing Ireland's holiest mountain Croagh Patrick (Irish: Cruach Phádraig) which is 2,507 feet (764 metres) in height. The annual day of pilgrimage is held in honour of Saint Patrick who, in the year 441, spent 40 days fasting on the mountain in County Mayo (Irish: Contae Mhaigh Eo). There had been a chapel on the summit in the 5th century and another small chapel was built on the summit and dedicated on 20 July 1905.

45 schools in Galway are to benefit from 1.5 million euro in funding under the Irish Language Assistants Scheme, according to the website "Celtic Language News". The new funding comes as part of a national support of 3.6 million euro for the Irish language.

Archaeologists in Orkney have discovered what is thought to be a Viking drinking hall that dates back to the 10th Century. The site, at Skaill Farmstead in Westness, Rousay, may have been used by the chieftain Sigurd. Stone walls, benches, pottery and a fragment of a Norse bone comb were found during the excavation. Further work will be undertaken to gain an insight into the life of those in Orkney from the Norse period to the 19th Century. Westness is mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga as the home of Earl Sigurd, a powerful 12th Century chieftain.

News from the Celtic League:

Sticking with the Celtic music theme and this time Breizh - but not Lorient - actu.fr describes Nolwenn Arzel as ‘the new rising star of the Celtic harp in Brittany’. She gives a performance this evening in a church in Paimpol on the north coast of Brittany.

It’s a long way to go so fortunately I have an excellent Youtube piece of her work at this link...enjoy!

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EoNpYK3A3o

Image: Nolwenn Arzel

The ‘Festival du chant de marin’ (festival of the song of the sea) has been held at Paimpol, Breizh over the past few days and active at it were volunteers collecting funds to support the work of SOS Méditerranée. It's one of a number of charities working to assist migrants attempting the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean from North Africa. Since EU support was withdrawn private bodies such as this are the only source of assistance for migrants in distress at sea.

The forty ninth edition of the Lorient Interceltique Festival will this year focus on celebrating the region of Galicia, recognised for its language, culture and traditions, with a strong Manx contingent alongside during the ten day event.

A major new poll has revealed that Scottish voters would back independence and they want another referendum on the issue in the next two years. The Ashcroft poll finds that excluding those who said they did not know or would not vote, that 52% to 48% would vote for an independent Scotland. Such a result in another independence referendum would mark the biggest shock to the United Kingdom since Irish independence a century ago. At the present time the "so called" United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Mannin (Isle of Man) Branch of the Celtic League recently had an item reporting on an article in the investigative news site 'The Ferret' about the dangers posed by ageing nuclear reactors (see below). Some of which are located within Celtic nations or close to them, such as those on the Irish Sea coastline. The danger posed by nuclear power though is not just posed by another potential disastrous Chernobyl type accident, and as the Celtic League report points out this is a real possibility.