Alastair Kneale's blog

News from the Celtic League:

Ireland's Minister with Responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe has visited Irish troops serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Currently, a total of some 380 Irish personnel are serving with UNIFIL.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Ireland’s first deployment to Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL mission.

One Sunday, 18 March 2018 the Minister laid a wreath at a monument in Tibnin to remember the forty seven Irish men who died while serving with UNIFIL.

Minister Kehoe said that:

In this article in Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin the issue is raised of the past excavations of ancient sites on Peel Hill in the Isle of Man and historical artefacts uncovered which have now gone missing. The Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles or Manx Chronicle, which is also mentioned in the article, is a medieval Latin manuscript relating to the early history of the Isle of Man.

News from the Celtic League:

Saturday next will mark the anniversary of the worst loss of life in a air crash over the Irish Sea. It was March 24th 1968 when Aer Lingus Flight EI-AOM Flight 712 ‘St Phelim’ crashed near Tuskar Rock off Wexford all on board the Viscount airliner perished.

Media Release Culture Vannin:

Pohllinee  - Merpeople

Jedoonee / Sunday will see a Manx Gaelic beach clean at Perwick in Purt le Moirrey. Organised by Culture Vannin, in conjunction with Beach Buddies, the first, in what will prove to be a regular clean-up at Perwick, will involve volunteers from a variety of Manx speaking groups such as Pobble and Mooinjer Veggey working under the umbrella title of Pohllinee or Merpeople!

Elections have just taken place to the Legislative Council (Manx: Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh), which is the upper chamber of Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man (Mannin). It is often referred to as "LegCo". To be more accurate they are less elections and more sham elections. The LegCo consists of eleven Members (MLCs): Eight elected members and three ex officio members made up of the Bishop of Sodor and Man, the President of Tynwald, who has the casting vote, and the Attorney General, who is non-voting.

Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) is undertaking his customary visit to the United States this week ahead of the St Patrick's day celebrations. Today he will be visiting the Choctaw Native Americans in Durant, Oklahoma. He will thank the Native American community for a remarkable act of kindness, when, in 1847, at the height of the Great Famine, the Choctaw community sent $170 to Ireland to help the poor and the starving. This at a time when the native American people's own position was very precarious.

Scotland has been experiencing some difficult weather conditions in recent weeks. Snow, ice and blizzard conditions has caused major disruption and often brought things to a standstill. All credit therefore goes to those that work for the National Health Service and have made every possible effort to reach vulnerable patients in their homes and those requiring treatment in hospital. One such case has recently been highlighted in the Scottish media. High risk weather condition had resulted in a red alert for snow being issued and a warning not to travel in Scotland.

News from the Celtic League:

Defiant Islanders Reject Obsolete Ferry 

The beleaguered Islanders of Tory Island off Donegal have expressed their determination not to have a 40 years old vessel that seemed fit only for the scrapheap become the replacement ferry imposed on them by the Department of the Gaeltacht.

The Islanders are supported in their fight by the Celtic League and Irish language groups. The League, in a campaign led by its Irish branch, has said any ferry service must meet IMO SOLAS standards.

Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin draws attention to an article in the Irish Times on Irelands Deep Atlantic:

‘Dive Ireland’ Docu Preview And Talk On ‘Ambassadors Of The Deep'

Lorna Siggins marine correspondent on the Irish Times has a feature on a new documentary to be shown on RTE in April. Its entitles ‘Ireland’s Deep Atlantic’ and it was previewed at a meeting of Ireland’s diving fraternity at there ‘Dive Ireland’ conference at the weekend.

There were a range of other presentations and a photographic competition.

Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin draw attention to an article in the newspaper Irish World that reports on a study of dead whales, dolphins and porpoises in Ireland, which found that nearly one in 10 were found with marine debris in their systems:

MARINE WASTE MAY BE CAUSE OF UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF CETACEAN STRANDINGS

Marine waste and microplastics could be the cause of a record number of whale and dolphin strandings. This report in the Irish World newspaper speculates: