Emmett McIntyre's blog

Scottish Gaelic has been erased from history to the extent that most people with Gaelic ancestry are unaware of their own linguistic and cultural heritage. Gaelic revitalization is about overcoming the damage done through miseducation, discrimination, and stereotypes, and passing the language and culture on in homes, communities and classrooms to ensure its future use. People are revitalizing Gaelic today in Scotland, Canada, and around the world.

The Irish Broadcasting Network are reporting that the Irish Uilleann pipes, an enduring symbol of Celtic culture in Ireland, have been recognised as an important and unique cultural heritage symbol by UNESCO.

Multiple press reports are quoting Irish President Michael Higgins on the announcement: 

News from the Gaelic league:

There is some good news for Gaelic for a change.

The Joint Committee on the Irish Language of the Oireachtas (Irish Republic Legislature) have called on the Minister of Education to give equal status to Gaelic in the procurement and distribution of school text books at all grade levels and in all subjects. If implemented this change will equalize funding for Irish and English. The result will be Gaelic language text books in all subjects available to all students.

The Welsh Language Society is in the forefront of the struggle to preserve, promote and protect the Celtic tongue of Wales. The group define themselves on their web page with these words:  “Cymdeithas is a group of people who seek equality of access to the Welsh language and campaign positively in a non-violent way for rights of people in Wales to use the language in every aspect of everyday life."

News From the Welsh Language Society:

Cyhoeddwyd gan Anhysbys ar Iau, Hyd 12th am 10:15 yb (October 12, 2017)

In late 2015 Galway City in the west of Ireland declared itself to be a bi-lingual city giving equal status to Irish alongside English.  It was ironic that the City Council made the effort considering Irish is already the official language of Ireland. But it was a welcome development nevertheless and based on the latest news from Galway the 2015 declaration has had a beneficial effect on the local economy.

Ireland’s 2018 Budget is getting mixed reviews when it comes to funding for the Gaeltacht and Irish language initiatives.

A leading advocate for Scots Gaelic in the movement to revitalize the Celtic Tongue has called for the appointment of a Scots Gaelic Language Commissioner. The Post would be similar to current offices held in the Welsh and Irish Governments.

The following is an excerpt from the momentous announcemnt by the Scottish Governmnet ( Full text linked below):

Scotland will start exporting haggis to Canada for the first time in almost 50 years, after Macsween of Edinburgh developed  a new recipe that meets Canadian regulations. It follows the lifting of the Canadian ban on red meat imports from Europe in 2015.

The French Government’s war on Breton, the Celtic Tongue of Brittany, has taken a bizarre turn in a jaw dropping example of the pettiness of the state bureaucracy in France.  A couple in Brittany wanted to call their newborn baby boy Fañch, a traditional name in Brittany.  However, the local registrar rejected this Celtic name and refused to record the birth unless the parents chose an “approved” French name. Fañch is a name borne notably by two Breton writers, Fañch Peru and Fañch Broudig, and is the Breton version of the name François.