Oraid Ghaelgagh: Laa Illiam Dhone 2004

Illiam Dhone is remembered now for standing up for the Manx people against the wishes of the legitimate government of his day. Today's government wonders why voters are apathetic. They must remember that they also should stand up for the Manx people in today's conflict against some big businesses which aim to make money out of Mannin while putting little of value back. Where they are seen to do this, they will get the support they wish for.



Cliaghtaghyn Celtiagh ayns ny Ellanyn Goaldagh

Celtic customs in the British Isles.

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Carn
The annual International Celtic Film and Television Festival was held in Wales recently. Fears were expressed there about the impact on native cultures of the new world of naked commercialism allied with new technology. Also exactly what is Celtic Film and Television?

88
Yn Eddyr-Voggyl as ny Chengaghyn Celtiagh
While some people may well be tired of hearing exaggerated claims for the Internet it has significant potential to further the cause of the Celtic languages.

95
Efforts to extend Gaelic medium education to secondary schools in Scotland have been stalled. Many people do not believe the real reason for this is the shortage of suitable teaching material.

96
The difficult position of writers who belong to small nations is exemplified by the Welsh poet R. S. Thomas.

97
At present, Mannin is the only Celtic country which is not formerly represented at the annual International Celtic Film and Television Festival. This is part of a much wider set of issues, including that of the onslaught of comercialism on minority cultures.

98
A useful book analysing the world wide heritage industry has been published. It points out that, by its nature, heritage involves invention. Call it creation and things are not too bad.

99
1997 saw the commemoration of the death of Colum Keeilley and the visits of the Irish President to the Isle of Man and Scotland - events of potentially great significance for inter-Celtic collaboration.


101
There is increasing Celtic cooperation over film and video making. Film making has taken off in the Isle of Man, but it is almost entirely concerned with making money for the government, with no concern for Manx culture. There may be the beginnings of a truly Manx video industry.


102         
Speakers from the Celtic countries gave lectures on the economies of their countries at the 1998 International Celtic Congress in the Isle of Man.


105
History text books currently in use in schools in the Isle of Man (and other Celtic countries) present a travesty of the history of 'Britain'.

107
Summary British Telecom is proposing high-speed optic fibre communication links to help regenerate the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.


108
It is particularly relevant to say that cooperation and information interchange is needed between the myriad Celtic societies, especially between the Celtic League and the Celtic Congress.

109
The Cornish National Minority Report makes an excellent case for the protection of the Cornish as a 'national minority'. Analysis of the issues raised is needed in Mannin.

111
Endangered languages face the problem of creating a new literature which deals honestly with the world today but does not rubbish past traditions.


112
The emergence of Ulster Scots has bemused some and amused others. But it is best for Celtic language activists to have an understanding attitude.

114
The first volume of a five-volume new history of the Isle of Man has been published. While this event is to be welcomed, it has to be remembered that writing history (like any human activity) can never be objective.

116
The connected problems of second homes and rocketing house prices are destroying communities and cultures in the Celtic countries. There are no easy solutions, but governments must move away from free-market ideologies.

118
International Celtic Congress 2002 was held in Carmarthen, Wales, the theme being language revival in the community. A common pattern in the information presented on the current situations in the Celtic countries was the continued decline of traditional areas and features, juxtaposed with the rise of learners of the languages.

122
Tony Blair's constitutional changes in the United Kingdom directly affect the Isle of Man as well as having greatly annoyed the Scots and Welsh. Is the delay in appointing a new (Anglican) bishop in Mann bound up with all this?
 
123
Archaeologists argue that there was no ethnic link between the ancient continental Celts and the peoples of Britain and Ireland, denying the existence of the insular Celts. This has been seized on with suspicious eagerness by some, who seem to have the idea that discredited theories of 'race' underpin our philosophies.