Celtic Recipes

'A Foreign Admiral With A Broken Arm And A Missing Leg'

Submitted by Eibhlin O'Neill on March 5, 2016 - 6:30pm

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

“It looks like a great engineering job and a much better thing to have on the main street than an old foreign admiral with a broken arm and a missing leg.”

The words were spoken by Liam Sutcliffe in 2003 when ‘the Spire’ which was erected on the site of Nelsons Pillar in Dublin was commissioned.

It turned out, although no one was sought at the time as there was little public concern at its destruction, that Sutcliffe had been the republican who planted the bomb that destroyed Nelsons Pillar that event took place 50 years ago this week.

Scotland: Sturgeon Storms Ahead

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on March 5, 2016 - 6:20pm

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Good news for the SNP ahead of the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections the SNP is recorded on 60% in the constituency voting intention in a new poll. That is more than enough to give them all the constituency seats and a majority in the parliament with the other parties only set to get seats on the ‘list’ system.

It is all the more astonishing because the complex voting system for the parliament was designed to stop any single party getting a majority.

Ever Noticed The Size Of Scotland On The BBC Weather Map?

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on March 5, 2016 - 6:10pm

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

I’m at it again plagiarising but sometimes the articles by Scottish blogger Paul Kavanagh are just too good to overlook.

Have you ever noticed the map of Scotland is too small on the BBC weather map? Take it from me it is and you would know that if you’ve ever driven the length and breadth of Scotland as I have on a number of occasions.

So is it a fiendish plot by the BBC to make Scotland smaller Paul Kavanagh’s says not. Here’s a snatch of the blog:

World's Largest Language Festival Opens - Irish President Hails the Resurgence of the Gaelic Tongue

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Submitted by Emmett McIntyre on March 2, 2016 - 9:49pm

Ireland’s President Michael Higgins has launched Seachtain na Gaeilge 2016, the world’s largest Language Festival, in a speech at the opening of the Conradh na Gaeilge Ard-Fheis (Gaelic League Annual Conference). Higgins opened the conference, with the Language Festival to follow during the first two weeks of March, with an optimistic appraisal of the current and future state of the Irish tongue. Referring to statistics which point to a strengthening of the Irish Language revival, Higgins is quoted on the Conradh na Gaeilge website:

Manx Chief Minister Allan Bell Goes ‘Cap In Hand’ To London But Iceland Gave EU Two Fingers!

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Submitted by Alastair Kneale on March 2, 2016 - 12:15pm

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The daily dose of sycophantic Bell-speak from Manx Radio today focuses on Allan’s angst over the Brexit situation.

In times of crisis it’s important to have a strong hand on the tiller so to speak but Allan Bell the Manx Chief Minister is less a ‘strong hand’ and more a ‘hand ringer’.

Dirty Banking Back On The Agenda As NAMA Deal Resurfaces

Submitted by Eibhlin O'Neill on March 1, 2016 - 2:16pm

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

“Isle of Man’s banking system still akin to that of a banana republic than a highly regulated offshore centre”.

The NAMA (Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency – see link) story has resurfaced to somewhat dent all those assertions last year that the Isle of Man had moved on was no longer a dodgy tax haven where dubious deals were done and had cleaned up its act.

St David Patron Saint Of Wales - Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Submitted by Mair Williams on March 1, 2016 - 10:24am

St David is the Patron Saint of Wales and March 1st is St David's Day. The first of March is recognised as a National Day throughout Wales. It is also a day of celebration for Welsh communities throughout the world and the Welsh flag with Y Ddraig Goch (the Red Dragon) is proudly raised. The date is tradionally seen as the date that Saint David died in 589. David was the son of the Prince of Powys and he went on to found a monastery on the site where Saint David's Cathedral now stands in Tyddewi/City of St David's in Sir Benfro/Pembrokeshire, Cymru/Wales.

Rare Bed Hangings From Scotland's Dunollie Castle Discovered

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on March 1, 2016 - 9:59am

Rare embriodered bed hangings have been found in the attic of Dunollie House, next to the Scottish town of Oban (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Òban). Dunollie House is where the Clan MacDougall chief moved from the adjacent castle and was built in 1745.

Isle of Man: Manx Performers Spring into Life at Welsh Festival

Submitted by Valerie Caine on February 29, 2016 - 9:00pm

With the advent of spring and the ubiquitous golden daffodils to help shake off the winter gloom, the inter-Celtic festival of Wales, Cwlwm Celtaidd, will burst into life this month and will include musicians and dancers from the Isle of Man in their programme.

Based in the seaside resort of Porthcawl, this family-friendly festival has long been a favourite of Manx traditional dance group Perree Bane, whose vibrancy and colour attract an audience wherever they perform.

The Amazing Courage Of Flora MacDonald - 'Preserver of Prince Charles Edward Stuart’

Submitted by Douglas MacQueen on February 29, 2016 - 7:18pm

Flora MacDonald

Flora MacDonald (Gaelic: Fionnghal nic Dhòmhnaill; 1722 – 4 March 1790) was born in South Uist (Scottish Gaelic: Uibhist a Deas) in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. She was the daughter of Ranald MacDonald and Marion MacDonald, but was brought up under the care of the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Clanranald her father's cousin.

She is remembered for the help she gave to Bonnie Prince Charlie after he had been defeated at the Battle of Culloden (Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Chùil Lodair) in 1746. Putting herself at awful risk she helped the Prince at a time when he was being hunted across the Highlands and Islands by the forces of the Duke of Cumberland. Cumberland was the third and youngest son of George II of Great Britain known for his brutality after the Battle of Culloden when he ordered his troops to show no quarter against any remaining Jacobite supporters and where his forces roamed the battlefield and stabbed any of the defeated soldiers who were still alive.

Prince Charles Edward Stuart, (31 December 1720 – 31 January 1788) The Young Pretender, affectionately known as Bonnie Prince Charlie was the grandson of James VII of Scotland and had led the second Jacobite Uprising of 1745 to overthrow King George II. The Jacobite cause was supported by many Highland clans, both Catholic and Protestant. Forced to flee for his life after his defeat at the battle of Culloden Moor in 1746, Bonnie Prince Charlie eventually arrived at the island of Benbecula (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn nam Fadhla or Beinn na Faoghla) an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Here he met 24-year-old Flora MacDonald and it is this young Presbyterian woman's heroic efforts to save the young Catholic Prince's life that has resulted in her name being remembered with great respect in Scottish history.

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