Celtic Recipes

Isle of Man: "Year of Culture Receives Stamp of Approval from Isle of Man Post Office"

Submitted by Valerie Caine on January 12, 2014 - 12:40pm

Island of Culture Stamps

As the year-long Island of Culture gets underway the Isle of Man Post Office has issued a new set of stamps by Manx artist Juan Moore to celebrate the occasion.

Juan commented, “It feels so good to have my artwork on the Island of Culture stamps. Art is always something that people have an opinion on and I hope my work will be noticed on these stamps. It is important to me that my work is not only thought-provoking, but that it is accessible to everyone. One of the aims of my work is for it to be as understood by not only those from an art background, but for someone who knows nothing about it.”

Isle of Man: "Successful Oie’ll Verree Launches Island of Culture 2014"

Submitted by Valerie Caine on January 12, 2014 - 12:31pm

Oie’ll Verree 2014

It was an evening of mixed emotions at the annual Oie’ll Verree held in the village of Michael, when it was revealed that two stalwarts of the celebrated Michael Players were hanging up their aprons for the final time and taking a well earned rest from the stage.

The distinctive Manx dialect play has been a feature of the Kirk Michael concert for generations, with the Michael Players believed to be the only Island drama group to keep the tradition in the public eye.

But the retirement of Win Callister and Ann Corlett has put the future of both the Michael Players and the unique Manx dialect play in doubt, although strenuous efforts are being made to encourage the recruitment of younger actors who can pick up the baton.

With every ticket sold and an extensive waiting list of hopeful visitors, this year’s Chairman, Laurence Skelly MHK, confidently took charge of the proceedings, contributing his own humour about fellow politicians throughout the evening.

Pan Celtic Festival Coming to Derry, Ireland in 2014

Submitted by Dominique Corolleur on January 12, 2014 - 11:31am

An Fhéile Phan Cheilteach (the Pan Celtic Festival) will be hosted in the City of Derry (Doire) in 2014. The festival, which brings visitors from all over Ireland as well as the other Celtic nations will be visiting Derry, in the north of Ireland for the first time.

The Irish Language Revival In Northern Ireland

Emmett McIntyre's picture
Submitted by Emmett McIntyre on January 11, 2014 - 10:39pm

Multiple press reports are citing the growing strength of the Irish tongue in Northern Ireland.  In the latest example of the Gaelic resurgence in this at times troubled part of the Celtic Homelands is the opening of a new Irish Centre in East Belfast.  The headlines accompanying the articles on the newly opened centre of Gaelic instruction, which has received unusual recognition given the size of the new facility, may reveal more about the symbolic significance of the event than the details of the opening of the Irish Language venue at the Skainos Centre in East Belfast.

Supermarket Pharmacy Condemned for Discrimination Against Welsh Speakers

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on January 9, 2014 - 10:22am

Welsh politicians and Meri Hughes, the Language Commissioner in Wales have condemned an incident of blatant and dangerous discrimination against the Welsh speaking community. This was after the disgraceful actions by Morrisons Supermarket pharmacy counter in Bangor, north Wales, who refused to provide medication for a one year old baby because the prescription was written in both Welsh and English.

The Celtic Festival Renaissance in America – From Milwaukee to Bethlehem

Emmett McIntyre's picture
Submitted by Emmett McIntyre on January 8, 2014 - 7:16pm

Irish dancers at the Milwaukee Irish Fest

Estimates vary on the number of American’s claiming descent from immigrants to North America from the modern Celtic Nations. More elusive still is identifying the number of American’s descended from Celtic immigrants who enjoy a “Celtic Identity”.  An analysis of the American 2010 Census data proffered in an August 2013 article in “Business Insider” estimates the number of descendants of Celtic immigrants to be in the vicinity of 50 million, comprised primarily of Irish, Scottish and Welsh in that order and inclusive of 5 million Americans who claim Scots-Irish ancestry.  Manx, Cornish and Breton identity is more difficult to measure as it has generally been subsumed within the census data into either English or French categories.

We at Transceltic believe that the Pan-Celtic movement should look upon Celtic Americans as a reservoir of good will, resources and support as we engage in the struggle to restore Celtic culture and language to its rightful place in the Celtic Nations.

A marker that points to the resurgence of Celtic ethnic identify in America is the growth in attendance at Celtic festivals.  It is problematic to gauge how many of the attendees are drawn to these events because they are expressing their Celtic identity versus just showing up because they enjoy a good show.  If we assume that 50% of the attendees at Celtic festivals are expressing a Celtic identify, then we are talking about a very large number of people that can be viewed as allies in the Pan Celtic movement and the struggle to preserve the language and culture of the Celtic Nations.

Book Review: "The M Room: Secret Listeners who Bugged the Nazis"

Submitted by Valerie Caine on January 8, 2014 - 7:10pm

The M Room

This is the remarkable story of the German émigrés who fled Hitler’s regime and became secret listeners for British Intelligence during World War II, brought vividly to life with the assistance of a former internee on the Isle of Man: Fritz Lustig.

Working from Latimer House and Wilton Park in England, Fritz Lustig and his colleagues (together with other secret listeners at Trent Park) bugged the conversations of over 10,000 prisoners of war, ranging from U-boat crews and Luftwaffe pilots to high-ranking German generals, in their fight to secure intelligence information to win the war.

These transcripts remained classified until 1999 but the tireless efforts of the book’s author, Helen Fry, now reveal how the work of Fritz Lustig and his colleagues was as important as those cracking the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire.

Remembering the Solway Harvester

Alastair Kneale's picture
Submitted by Alastair Kneale on January 7, 2014 - 1:48pm

The storms that have battered the coasts around Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, Isle of Man and Scotland over recent weeks have caused considerable damage. Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the atrocious conditions. It also brings into focus the perils faced by those whose livelihood depend upon fishing off our Celtic coasts.

News From Celtic League - Illiam Dhome Commemoration 2014

Submitted by Myghal Map Serpren on January 6, 2014 - 10:33pm

This news in from the Celtic League:

Illiam Dhome Commemoration 2014

News From Celtic League

The Illiam Dhome commemoration took place last week (2nd January 2014) in Mannin/Isle of Man.

Paris With a Wary Eye on Brittany - 2 Billion Euros pledged to the "Restive Province"

Submitted by Niall McCarsten on January 5, 2014 - 6:25pm

The French news Site RFI reported last month that the French Government have pledged 2 Billion Euro to Brittany ostensibly as economic aid. The article describes the governments "Pact For the Future Of Brittany": "The government's Pact for the Future of Brittany promises 2 Billion Euros in aid to help workers declared redundant, restructure agricultural to make it more environmentally friendly and boost the region's economy."  The governments plan has met with mixed reaction from Brittany's trade movement groups and the Breton assembly barely approved with stiff opposition: "...right wing and centrist MPs and councillors opposed the Pact and boycotted the signing ceremony."

Pages