Douglas MacQueen's blog

In September 1297, the forces of William Wallace and  Andrew de Moray defeated a much larger English force at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Now leading public artist Malcolm Robertson has been chosen to develop a major artwork at the site of the historic Battle. The site lies directly beside Old Stirling Bridge, which was built in the early 16th century and replaced the old wooden bridge which gave the battle its name.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

A seventy-seven year old Glasgow pensioner, Brian Quail, proved you are never too old to make your mark when yesterday he stopped several 100 kiloton nuclear warheads in their tracks.

Convoys of nuclear warheads are a familiar site in Scotland where they transit to and from the weapons repository at AWE, Berkshire, England to the Submarine Armaments Depot (RNAD) at Coulport, Argyll in Scotland.

A lost Scottish settlement, believed to have been founded 1,000 years ago is revealing its hidden secrets. The remains of four medieval structures, thought to be from the 10th or 11th centuries have been uncovered.  Hundreds of rare objects including coins, pistol shot, gaming pieces as well as fragments of glazed pottery and clay smoking pipes dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries, have been found on the site where the village of Cadzow in South Lanarkshire (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas) once stood. 

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Good news for the SNP ahead of the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections the SNP is recorded on 60% in the constituency voting intention in a new poll. That is more than enough to give them all the constituency seats and a majority in the parliament with the other parties only set to get seats on the ‘list’ system.

It is all the more astonishing because the complex voting system for the parliament was designed to stop any single party getting a majority.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

I’m at it again plagiarising but sometimes the articles by Scottish blogger Paul Kavanagh are just too good to overlook.

Have you ever noticed the map of Scotland is too small on the BBC weather map? Take it from me it is and you would know that if you’ve ever driven the length and breadth of Scotland as I have on a number of occasions.

So is it a fiendish plot by the BBC to make Scotland smaller Paul Kavanagh’s says not. Here’s a snatch of the blog:

Rare embriodered bed hangings have been found in the attic of Dunollie House, next to the Scottish town of Oban (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Òban). Dunollie House is where the Clan MacDougall chief moved from the adjacent castle and was built in 1745.

The Scottish Government will take forward most of the proposals made by a review group on wildlife crime penalties chaired by Professor Mark Poustie of Strathclyde University.  Scotland's Environment Minister, and Scottish National Party MSP, Dr Aileen McLeod, accepted recommendations to introduce the new maximum penalties. People who commit wildlife crimes could face a £40,000 fine and a year in jail under new Scottish Government proposals.

On 24 February 1303 a force of 8,000 Scots defeated an English army of 30,000. The English forces were led by Sir John de Segrave who was angered at the failure of his attempts to marry Lady Margaret Ramsay of Dalhousie. She chose instead Sir Henry St. Clair of Rosslyn.  With the support of the English King Edward I, John de Segrave launched his attack on Scotland. 

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

SCOTLAND: TENSION BETWEEN GOVT AND FISHERMEN AS POLICY LIKENED TO ‘THE CLEARANCES’

There are reports of continued tension between fishing communities in Scotland and the Scottish government over Marine Protection Zones created off the West Coast which the Scottish government say are vital to protect biodiversity and allow sea-bed areas damaged by over fishing to recover.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

TALK WILL FOCUS ON SCOTTISH ROLE IN EASTER RISING

As a precursor to the AGM of the Celtic League which gets under way over Easter Weekend and marks the Centenary of the Easter Rising there will be a talk on Thursday 24th by Author and Historian Stephen Coyle on role Scottish Republicans played in the Rising (see poster).

The recent publication at this link also provides more background on this Inter-Celtic dimension to the Rising: