Blogs

Ireland is to open a consulate in Cardiff in summer 2019. Part of the reason is maintaining future ties after Brexit. It is anticipated that the Consulate General would have an economic and political focus. The consulate is seen as an important  part of Ireland's political and economic ties with Wales and sustaining those links after Britain leaves the European Union. Ireland is Wales’ fourth largest trading partner, with about 85 Irish companies with a presence in Wales, employing just over 5,500 people.

Illiam Dhone (14 April 1608 - 02 January 1663) also known as William Christian was a Manx politician and patriot. For his part in the Manx rising of 1651 he was executed by firing squad at Hango Hill in the Isle of Man on 2nd January 1663. Every year on 2nd January there is a commemoration held at Hango Hill, which is an ancient place of execution. The ceremony is jointly organised by Mec Vannin (the Manx Nationalist Party) and the Mannin Branch of the Celtic League.

Fishing baskets, thought to date back to the 14th Century have been discovered by two brothers walking on the Severn Estuary (Welsh: Môr Hafren), off the coast of Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy) in south-east Wales. The baskets were uncovered by recent storms having been buried under silt and clay for hundreds of years. The four baskets were found by Martin and Richard Morgan, members of Black Rock Lave Net Fishermen group. Lave Net Fishing is a traditional method of fishing practised for thousands of years.

This new book, which charts the success of the revolutionary Cunningham's Young Men's Holiday Camp on the Island, is not only informative and revealing, but proves beyond doubt that the concept of the holiday camp began on the Isle of Man.

Celtic Connections festival will be on from 17th to 3rd February, 2019. Celtic Connections, which started in 1994 in the Scottish city of Glasgow (Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu) been held every January since then. Featuring concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international folk and world music artists. This years event will also feature Scotland’s links with the German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 – 1827). 

The website "Celtic Language News" reports that outgoing Welsh Language Commissioner Meri Huws shared her 40 years of experience in revitalizing the Welsh language, noting that legal protection of minority languages is just the beginning, and it won’t stop those languages from disappearing.

A Donegal County Councillor says the Council must do more to support the Irish language. 

Councillor Mícheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig was speaking after there was no translation service available at a recent meeting he attended. During the meeting, Mac Giolla Easbuig spoke in Irish although there was no translation service available. He says a number of councillors objected to this, but is stressing it’s no reflection on Cllr Frank Mc Brearty who chaired the meeting.

Protesters gathered in Strokestown (Irish: Béal na mBuillí), Ireland today calling for an end to forced evictions. This is the result of a controversial violent eviction of a farming family from their home in County Roscommon (Irish: Contae Ros Comáin). An investigation is now also under way into the conduct of a group of men, working for the Belgian-owned KBC bank, who were brought in from the north of Ireland to carry out the eviction.

Gardaí (Irish: An Garda Síochána) the Irish police service, are investigating a suspected arson attack on a branch of the Belgian owned KBC Bank in Co Dublin yesterday morning. The front window had been smashed and the fire caused extensive damage to the ground floor of the building. This was the second arson attack on a KBC Bank in 48 hours. Yesterday protesters also occupied the lobby of the head office of KBC Bank in Dublin. This is the result of a controversial eviction of a farming family from their home in County Roscommon (Irish: Contae Ros Comáin).

A sheme for  a 15-turbine wind farm, opposed by the Scottish Borders Council, has now been blocked. The size of the project meant a final decision lay with the Scottish government, which refused the project after a public inquiry. It has been rejected over concerns about its impact on the "natural beauty" of the area. It was concluded that the benefits of the scheme's contribution to renewable energy targets did not outweigh concerns about its visual and landscape impact.