Alastair Kneale's blog

The Scottish referendum vote for independence is being looked at with interest by the other Celtic nations. This is also the case in Cornwall. Cornwall is recognised as one of the six Celtic nations and takes its place in both the ‘Celtic League’ and the ‘Celtic Congress’, along with Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man and Brittany.

On Sunday, April 28th, 2013 at the 14th annual Newport Beach Film Festival there will be an evening celebration of Celtic cinema and culture. The festival will present its Irish Spotlight that will feature the world premiere of the Irish film the O'Briens. The event will be followed by a reception.

The independent feature film is set in the west of Ireland where a family return to their home town. Two years after the death of his wife a father calls his two sons (Liam McMahon & Emmett Hughes) and daughter (Slaine Kelly) home where he has important news for them . The comedy looks at the dilemmas faced by each family member as they return home. Emmett Hughes and Slaine Kelly co-wrote the script for the film.

In a blistering attack on other political parties Mebyon Kernow has launched its 2013 Election Manifesto. The document entitled 'Putting Cornwall First' accuses the coalition United Kingdom Government of ignoring the needs of Cornwall and pursuing policies that are detrimental to Cornish people.

Late March 2013 has seen the Isle of Man experiencing some of the heaviest snowfalls since the early 1960s. The cohesive Manx community have rallied around to support Manx farmers who are facing catastrophic livestock losses. The severe weather conditions have also hit the south of Scotland and north of Ireland.

As part of the effort to raise funds for the Isle of Man Agricultural Benevolent Trust, Manx Music Trio 'Barrule' are releasing a track early from their forthcoming album. The track is poignantly entitled 'Ny Kirree fo Niaghtey' (The Sheep Under The Snow).

Wales achieved a stunning 30 - 03 victory over England in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday 16th March and were crowned champions. Their successful championship defence was achieved after a staggering performance. A rampant Wales dominated the match to deny England a Grand Slam in the six nations rugby championship.

Association of Bretons in New York (BZH New York) have extended an invitation to their St. Patrick's Fest Noz on 13 March at Connelly's Times Square 121 45th Street. They have produced an attractive poster advertising the event. A Fest Noz is described as a festive gathering based on the collective practice of traditional Breton dances, accompanied by singing or instrumental music.

From the Irish Independent:

"Irish rugby international Luke Fitzgerald has called for more money to be put into promoting wider use of the Irish language and helping people develop their Irish language skills.

"Speaking a day after Ireland's bruising encounter with France, the Leinster and Ireland winger said he would like to see 'a big revival of the Irish language'.

"A fluent Irish speaker himself, the 25-year-old Dubliner said that despite the tough economic circumstances it was still important to put money into the language as it gave people a sense of Irishness."

TG4, the Irish Language TV channel, continues to achieve success. The channel has been praised for its content. TG4 has recently started to broadcast an eight part drama series written by Colin Bateman about an Irish language newspaper  in Belfast. "Scúp" airs on TG4 on Wednesdays, and started on February 27, at 10pm, and on BBC Two from March 3 at 10pm.  There is also a further Irish language drama being filmed called "An Bronntanas". The series is set against the backdrop of a local independent lifeboat crew working off the coast of Connemara. It stars Irish/American actor and Irish language enthusiast John Finn. www.tg4.ie

This comes after the 2011 census results which recorded a 7.1% increase in those that spoke Irish in Ireland bringing the figure to some 1.77 million. 

The International Celtic Congress is a non-political cultural organisation that promotes the Celtic language in the six nations of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Ireland, Isle of Man and Cornwall. The annual meeting of the Congress in 2013 is being held in Bodmin, Cornwall from 1st to 6th April.

The Manx Language continues to prosper and experience a growing revival. As reported in the on-line BBC News Magazine on 31st January 2013. There is an increased use in the numbers speaking Manx Gaelic, which is closely linked to Irish and Scottish Gaelic. This remarkable growth is also reflected in the road signage, mobile phone apps, broadcasts on Manx Radio and novels. The language declined significantly from the mid-nineteenth century when economic depression resulted in emigration. Many parents thought that just encouraging their children to speak English would help their job chances abroad. This was combined with the prevention of speaking the native tongue in schools at that time.