Blogs

Currently teaching at Harvard University, internationally famous photographer, Chris Killip, recently returned to the Isle of Man for the opening of a new exhibition of his work at the Manx Museum, and to present a sell out talk about his life and work.

His seminal work The Isle of Man: A Book About the Manx, published in 1980, captured a view of Manx life which was soon to disappear, focusing on a rural community through the lens of a plate camera, and the stark black and white images, with which Chris Killip made an indelible mark in the photographic world.

News from the Celtic League:

‘Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse for the worlds oceans!’

We have been reporting on the assault on the marine environment by so called Super-Trawlers like the Margiris and Annelies Ilena which can catch and process over 200 tonnes a day.

Super trawlers now operate in all the Oceans of the world and we posted a link from Greenpeace on what they termed ‘the monster boats’ fishing waters from the Pacific and South Atlantic to Northern waters around Europe.

News from the Celtic League:

Britain’s nuclear waste pile s set to get a whole lot bigger as 800 tonnes from the Wylfa nuclear plant in Anglesey which is being commissioned are trundled around Liverpool bay over the next few years to the waste repository.

Sellafield 30 miles from the Manx coast is now the home to arguably the largest aggregation of nuclear waste on the planet.

News from the Celtic League:

A plan to tackle child poverty announced by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been broadly welcomed (link):

http://www.thenational.scot/…/sturgeon-is-committed-to-endi…

Poverty Alliance, a group involved in the End Child Poverty campaign, also welcomed the announcement, saying:

News from the Celtic League:

Just hours after we voiced concerns about the possible environmental risks posed by a nuclear submarine coming to grief news of a collision involving a UK Astute Class nuclear submarine in the Mediterranean (link):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36852365

This is the second serious incident with this type of vessel one HMS Astute having run aground on the Isle of Skye some years ago.

A recent exhibition organised by members of Rushen Heritage Trust, focusing on the hey-day of tourism in the south of the Island, attracted a large number of visitors to Port Erin; many of whom reminisced about those halcyon days.

Situated in St Catherine's Church Hall, a stone's throw from Port Erin Bay, the organisation's volunteers had brought together a wealth of information and memories describing how visitors entertained themselves in Port Erin, Port St Mary and beyond.

News from the Celtic League:

A Major General of the Irish Army has assumed the Head of Mission and Force Commander role for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Speaking at a ceremony yesterday to mark the event Irelands Minister with responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe TD, said:

According to the statistics published by the Welsh Government, the area covered by the local authority of Newport has a population of about 140,000 with 22%, or approximately 30,000 residents claiming fluency in the Celtic tongue. Newport is situated at the eastern edge of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area which has a total population exceeding 1.1 million.  

In the latest salvo in the battle between language activists and Dublin’s malevolent attitude towards Gaelic, Ireland’s President Michael Higgins has condemned the failure of the government to honor its responsibility to the Irish language.  In a recent address to a group of language activists in Dublin, Higgins is quoted questioning the goodwill of Government elites toward the Tongue.  Higgins lashed out at the Government for its failure to facilitate meeting increasing community demands for the establishment of Gaelic Medium Secondary schools, an issue that has surfaced in a number of com

'The Duchy of Cornwall comprises the County of Cornwall' (Government Legal Department)

We have all seen the work of constitutional lawyer and Notary Public, Dr. John Kirkhope, who has spent years investigating the unique laws governing the Duchy of Cornwall and who has written extensively about them. (John Kirkhope's website here: http://www.jkirkhope.co.uk/)