Alastair Kneale's blog

Yesterday 8th March was International Women's Day. Interesting to see an item by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) or as it should be better described English Broadcasting Corporation. With their usual sleight of hand they wrote: "In 1919 Lady Nancy Astor became the first elected woman MP to sit in Parliament." Their little trick was to include the words "sit in". In fact the first woman to be "elected to" to the British parliament was Constance Markievicz (February 1868 – 15 July 1927).

Charles Altamont Doyle was born on 25th March 1832.  Today he is mainly remembered for being the father of Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. However, Charles Altamont Doyle was a talented illustrator and watercolourist. He was the son of Irish artist John Doyle, the political cartoonist known by the pen name as H.B., and Marianna Conan Doyle. Charles Altamont Doyle moved to Edinburgh in 1849, where he worked as an assistant surveyor  at the Scottish Office of Work.

News from the Celtic League:

I remarked recently in a post about the Celtic Leagues long term opposition to the disposal of nuclear waste in the Irish sea and remarked that the practice was to continue with the disposal of contaminated silt from Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station to a site off Penarth South Wales The tidal flow at this point is sure to take contaminated sediments out via the Bristol Channel into the confluence with the Celtic and Irish Sea (link here includes infographic of radioactive waste disposal):

Bernard Moffatt wrote an article for the Mannin Branch of the Celtic League recently (see below). He pointed to results from last year's Social Attitude Survey  undertaken in the Isle of Man.  This showed that only about one in three people trust ether the government or parliament. Not really a surprise given the very negative views that consistently continue to be expressed by Manx people on a daily basis towards the present Manx administration.

In February 2000 the funerals took place of the seven crew members of the Scottish fishing boat Solway Harvester. It was on the 10th January 2000 that the boat set out from Kirkcudbright (Scottish Gaelic: Cille Chuithbeirt) in south-west Scotland. They fished until the following day 11th January and planned to set sail home. Due to the stormy conditions they sought refuge in the shelter of Ramsey Bay (Manx: Baie Rhumsaa) on the northeast coast of the Isle of Man.

There has been increased interest in the Isle of Man (Manx: Mannin) recently about Rushen Abbey. Rushen Abbey was founded in 1134 by Monks of the Sauvignac Order on land granted to them by Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 29 June 1153) who was a twelfth-century King of the Isles. The Kingdom of the Isles, also known as the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, comprised the Hebrides, the islands of the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Man from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD.

Isle of Man Post Office (Manx: Oik Postagh Ellan Vannin) have presented a new issue of ten stamps to show the diversity of wildlife to be found on the Isle of Man (Manx: Mannin). The Island, which is located in the Irish Sea, was cut off from the surrounding islands of the Atlantic Archipelago, a group of islands off the north-western coast of continental Europe, in around 8000 BC.  The Island has a richly-varied landscape in a small area with a unique composition of wildlife, making the need for its protection very important.

Tributes are being paid to Dr Brian Stowell, who sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 82. He was highly regarded for all of the work that he undertook for Manx language and culture. Speaker of the House of Keys (Manx: Yn Kiare as Feed), which is the directly elected branch of the parliament of the Isle of Man, Juan Watterson, praised him for bringing depth and meaning to the Manx language. He was praised for his contributions to the Celtic Congress and the Celtic League Mannin Branch hailed his linguistic work.

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.

News from the Celtic League:

This article from the Celtic League looks at the disastrous environmental impact of Super Trawlers overfishing. The new restrictions by the Irish Government to create a 6 mile coastal ban on fishing by large trawlers is welcome, but further action needs to be taken:

Super Trawlers Will ‘Slip The Net’ Of Large Trawler Ban

A move by the Irish government to restrict larger trawlers from a 6 mile inshore zone around Ireland is welcome but is it too little and too late (links):