Emmett McIntyre's blog

A South Jersey Tale of Halloween:

It is said that the power of the Sidhe, as the Fairy Mounds appearing anywhere the ancient tongue has been spoken are called, is unleashed only on one night a year. That night is Samhain. Samhain, the Celtic Feast Day of the Dead, the night known as Halloween.

A government spokesman has cited majority support throughout Scotland for the Gaelic Language. Pledging the support of the Scottish Government to the long term growth of Scots Gaelic, John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for the Gaelic language, delivered a ringing endorsement of the Celtic Tongue of Scotland in a speech in Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh) on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Gaelic speaking heartland.

The fate of the Irish language is, at this time, in the hands of a Government that is failing to protect Ireland’s culture. There are bad governments and good governments. Ireland’s....administration falls into the bad category, particularly when it comes to the health of the Irish language. The problem is that the present Irish government has the ability to seriously damage the Irish language before they are consigned to history. – Transceltic’s Eibhlin O’Neill

From Donegal Now:

From Galway Bay FM News and the Connacht Tribune:

Galway’s Oireachtas members are being urged to lobby for more investment in the Irish language and Gaeltacht areas. Conradh na Gaelige is calling on TDs (members of the Lower House of the Irish Parliament) and Senators to reverse what it describes as detrimental cuts to the Irish language sector.

Produced by the "The New World Celts”, an organization dedicated to “Promoting Celtic History and Celtic Culture in the New Worlds” in association with Celtic Heritage Productions, the Celtober Festival will be held in Asheville, North Carolina on Thursday October, 20.

Headlining the Festival are two bands who themselves serve as Ambassadors of Celtic Culture.

Image compliments of www.buzzle.com

The Scottish Gaelic Tattoo Handbook: Authentic Words and Phrases in the Celtic Language of Scotland

The Welsh Language Society have long been calling for the abolition of the concept of “Welsh as a Second Language” pushing the alternative of every pupil being given the opportunity to be educated in the medium of both Welsh and English. The notion of Welsh medium education enjoys wide support amongst the electorate in Wales.

I believe a case could be made for a form of union between the republic, an independent Northern Ireland and an independent Scotland, a union which could be of benefit to the approximately 12 million people concerned. - Retired Colonel Dorcha Lee

The damage done to Scots Gaelic culture by the Highland Clearances in the 1700’s and the efforts to reclaim what has been lost continues into modern times. Part of this renewal is a revival of traditional Scottish Step Dancing.

The 2016 All Ireland Music Festival, or Fleadh Cheoil na hErieann, was held this year in Ennis in County Clare. Media reports estimate the crowd at over 400,000 over the nine days of this traditional festival of the Gaelic culture and language of Ireland.