Celtic Recipes

Islands top survey of the best places to live in Scotland

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on December 18, 2017 - 3:24pm

There is something special about living on an island, particularly one where the population density is kept under control. That's also the case in Scotland where a new study has shown that islanders have the best quality of life. Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides came in the top three respectively in a Bank of Scotland survey. A number of factors contributed to the result including including health, low pollution levels, employment, low crime rates, nature and wildlife, low population density and the beauty of the location.

Season News From Kernow Matters To Us!

Submitted by Kernow Matters to Us on December 16, 2017 - 11:59pm

Kernow

16 Mys Kevardhu 2017

Grand Bard Speaks Out!

All sane folks must surely support the words of the Grand Bard, Dr Merv Davey reported in Cornwall's very own bespoke newspaper 'Cornish Stuff'.

Link here:

Inappropriate foreign intervention condemned in both Irish and Manx abortion law reform debate

Alastair Kneale's picture
Submitted by Alastair Kneale on December 15, 2017 - 6:59pm

In both Ireland and the Isle of Man there is a debate underway in regard to the legalisation of abortion. There are very strong opinions held on all sides of the disussion. However, for different reasons, concerns are being raised in regard to the type of interventions that are coming from abroad and designed to impact upon the democratic decisions being made in both countries. Interestingly, those causing the consternation come from both sides of the issue.

Discovery near Loch Ness points to area of ancient ceremonial importance

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on December 14, 2017 - 3:52pm

A discovery of a second 4,000-year-old Bronze Age grave in Drumnadrochit is adding to already increasing evidence that this area of Scotland was a site of significant ceremonial importance in prehistoric times. The latest grave contained a decorated Beaker pot which archaeologists believe may have held an offering to the person who was buried in the cist (ancient coffin or burial chamber).

Conservation project to restore blanket bogs in Ireland and Scotland

Submitted by Eibhlin O'Neill on December 13, 2017 - 3:40pm

Thousands of acres of blanket bog are to be restored across the island of Ireland and Scotland. European Union funding is going towards the five-year Co-operation Across Borders for Biodiversity (CABB) project, which is worth 4.9 million euro (£4.3 million) and is managed by the SEUPB (Special EU Programmes Body).

Enormous threat posed by overfishing

Alastair Kneale's picture
Submitted by Alastair Kneale on December 12, 2017 - 5:55pm

Yet another good item in Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin. This looks at the startling decline of bird life globally and in particular the dramatic decline in Scotland around Orkney and Shetland and on St Kilda in the Western Isles. The article draws attention to the catastrophic damage caused by supertrawlers which are responsible for massive amounts of over fishing. As the article points out "A major conservation initiative is necessary before it's too late if indeed the eleventh hour is not long past!":

The Dying Gaul

Emmett McIntyre's picture
Submitted by Emmett McIntyre on December 11, 2017 - 6:23pm

Dying Gaul sculpture

I was touched as I have seldom been by a work of Art. The face looking down at me was not at all the ‘noble countenance’ one reads about but, on the contrary, a face so ordinary that its wearer would not have stood out if he had walked our own streets: unkempt hair, low forehead, slightly snub nose and a Celtic moustache of the type that has for some time been back in fashion.  The mouth is half open and the features are frozen in an expression less of pain than of painful bewilderment.

- Gerhard Herm from his work “The Celts”, on his viewing the Dying Gaul at the Roma Capitale

The consensus on the origins of the “Dying Gaul” is that it is a marble copy of an original bronze sculpture commissioned by the King of Pergamum to mark the defeat of Celtic Galatia.  The Greek bonzes are thought to have possibly been brought to Rome in the reign of Nero where a marble copy was made and it is this copy that was unearthed in the 1620’s during an excavation at the Villa Ludovisi. By 1736 it was on permanent exhibition at Rome’s Capitoline Museum where it has remained except between 1797 and 1816 when it was at the Louvre after Napoleon stole it and took it to Paris.

Campaign for Scotland's third national park in Galloway

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on December 11, 2017 - 4:15pm

Galloway (Scottish Gaelic: Gall-Ghàidhealaibh) is a region in southwestern Scotland. It is an area steeped in history being the location of the ancient Kingdom of Galloway and is noted for its great natural beauty and wildlife. Now there is a campaign for the creation of a third national park in Scotland that should be created in Galloway.

Hope for world treaty on global waste

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Submitted by Alastair Kneale on December 10, 2017 - 2:00pm

This article from Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic League Mannin by Allen Moore draws attention to the blight of plastic pollution on the worlds oceans and the urgent need for a world treaty on global waste.  He makes the point that until we get global agreement rubbish will continue to be thrown into the sea presenting major dangers to seabirds, cetaceans, fish, other marine life and also humans: 

"Hope for world treaty on global waste"

Paris - the city named after a Celtic tribe

Submitted by Dominique Corolleur on December 9, 2017 - 6:48pm

Paris, the capital of France, is one of the most visited cities in the world. Renowned for its beauty this major European city is a global centre for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. The name "Paris" is derived from its early inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. The Parisii inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. It is thought that they created a settlement on île de la Cité which is a natural island on the Seinne river. The île de la Cité is where the cathedral of  Notre-Dame de Paris stands.

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