What price the Peel Rural Deanery Chruinnaght now?

I see Yn Chruinnaght is back and its had another minor make over it seems to be called CELTIC GATHERING. Now last year you will recall some of what Bob Carswell described as 'pedants and purists' were appalled at the change to CELTFEST. I’m bound to say however I didn’t whip myself into a frenzy over the change.

I recall writing at the time;

“I’m excavating two tubs of old photographs and papers with my eldest daughter and after she has got over her hysteria at seeing a pic of me dressed as a page boy for the 1953 coronation re-enactment or fallen about laughing at my hair in the sixties hippy era we come across some Chruinnaght prize certificates of my mother circa 1930s {Peel Rural Deanery}.

It seems Chruinnaghts were all the go then I doubt if anyone felt the urge to use the term Celtfest.

It gets me wondering how the new rebrand went this year. Although some items were staged in Peel I never went - not I hasten to add out of some insane ‘Celtfest’ boycott but because I didn’t feel the inclination.

The event was however very much in evidence and it was clear that it went well and it was really great to see the profusions of Inter-Celtic flags which bedecked the town of Peel.”

I recently returned to the photo tubs (minus the daughter) and did that thing I’m infamous for and culled them. The ‘Peel Rural Deanery Yn Chruinnaght certs’ went in the rubbish. In hindsight it was probably the right thing as the term ‘Yn Chruinnaght’ is hardly de rigeur these days.

As for the ‘Celtic Gathering’ I hope as always it goes well. As I also wrote last year:

“These festivals of course always take a fair degree of organising so well done to all those who projected the Inter-Celtic aspect of our culture as an equal of our fellow Celts.”

Here’s some links to the CeltFest furore last year and also the recent Manx radio item on this years Celtic Gathering:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1256862464362512&id=80...

https://www.facebook.com/805941286121301/photos/a.806379472744149.107374...

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1396174810431276&id=80...

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/celebrating-links-in-cel...

Bernard Moffatt