Emmett McIntyre's blog

The Northeast Florida Scottish Games and Festival is to be held on February 27, 2016.  It is one of the largest single day Scottish games held in the United Sates. Attendance in recent years has topped 30,000 and these numbers are typical of the surging popularity of Celtic cultural events in North America.

Galway City in the west of Ireland has declared itself to be a bi-lingual city giving equal status to Irish alongside English.  Ironic that the City Council is making the effort considering Irish is already the official language of Ireland.

Cape Breton’s Celtic Music Interpretive Centre and the Celtic Colours International Festival are sponsoring a mentoring program that will ensure the passing of Cape Breton’s Gaelic tongue and rich Celtic musical traditions from one generation to the next. Each student will receive instructions in subjects that include Gaelic Language, Fiddle, Pipes and Scottish Step Dancing.  The Mission Statement of the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre is to “Collect, Preserve and Promote the traditions of the Celtic Music of Cape Breton Island through Education, Research and Performance”.   

In its 39th year the Central Florida Highland Games is an impressive event. The popularity of the Festival has fueled year to year growth in attendance. Event organizers estimate that 25,000 attended the two day festival in 2015. 

Located in Southwest Donegal in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht, the village of Gleann Cholm Cille (pictured below) is home to Oideas Gael. Oideas Gael is an Irish-language learning Centre dedicated to the Irish language and culture.  Promoting Gaelic culture and the Celtic tongue of Ireland since 1984, over the past 30 years thousands of participants have enjoyed the varied language and cultural courses at Oideas Gael.

"We are glad that the Welsh language will be a consideration when it comes to housing developments and planning the future of Welsh communities. Cymdeithas yr Iaith has been campaigning for over a quarter century for a new planning system that give the Welsh language status." – Welsh Language Society

News from the Welsh Language Society/Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg: The following is from the organization’s web site (linked below):   

We have called on Assembly Members to make a new year's resolution to use more Welsh in the Assembly, following the release of figures showing that use of the language in the Assembly Chamber dropped in 2015. Our research shows that only 11.8% of the contributions made in the Chamber in 2015 were in Welsh, compared with 12.7% in 2014. 

The 3rd Annual Florida Keys Celtic Festival will be held January 8th through 10th.   The festival will take place in Marathon situated half way between the mainland and Key West.  The entertainment line-up for the 2016 Festival includes Celtic bands Albannach, Rathkeltair, The Screaming Orphans, Marcille Wallis & Friends, West of Galway and the Police Pipe and Drum of Florida. 

The following was posted in the December 2015 Newsletter of the Cornish Language Partnership (MAGA).  MAGA defines itself as follows on their web page: “The Partnership includes language organisations, local authorities and a number of other organisations who have come together with the aim of promoting Cornish and developing it further in Cornish life. The programme of work it is undertaking is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government and by Cornwall Council." 

News from the Cornish Language Partnership/MAGA

News from the Gaelic League – Calls For Support of the Irish Government for the Irish Language and Gaeltacht