Douglas MacQueen's blog

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon will visit Dublin this week where she will meet political and business leaders, including Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar. This is Nicola Sturgeon's second trip to Dublin in less than a year. On that occasion she addressed the upper house of the Irish Parliament. The First Minister has said that she views Ireland as an important friend to Scotland and looked forward to strengthening links between the countries.

Plans by developers to build 250 homes on the Bannockburn battle site have been refused by Sterling Councillors. The Battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314 was a significant Scottish victory in the First War of Scottish Independence against the English forces of King Edward II. In a unanimous decision at a Sterling Council meeting on Wednesday the refusal took into account the need to protect the historic importance of the Bannockburn site and also because of the environmental harm of the proposed development in a Green Belt area.

The Scottish government has said that fracking "cannot and will not take place in Scotland". Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse told Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP's) that the present moratorium on fracking, which has been in place since 2015, will continue "indefinitely". He went on to say that MSPs will be given a vote on the issue later in the year before a final decision is taken.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which continues the process of land reform in Scotland following the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Established under the Land reform Act is the Scottish Land Commission (SLC), which came into being on 1 April 2017. A study into who owns Scotland's land and the impact that has on the people who live there is to be carried out by the SLC. Scotland has one of the highest concentrations of land ownership in Europe.

Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic News Mannin point out that it is not only Catalonia that will be voting for self determination in the next two weeks but also Iraqi Kurdistan. Both represent wider global movements where men and women are seeking the right to determine their own future and not be controlled by other states:

SUBORN YOUR RIGHTS TO OTHERS OR LIVE AS FREE MEN

The government of Scotland has made a clear statement of support for the Catalan people to have the right to vote for their independence from Spain. Catalonia has its own democratically elected parliament, which is in charge of a great number of its own affairs. The Catalan parliament has voted to hold a referendum on independence from Spain. The vote is supported by the Catalan President and the Catalan government and a referendum is to be held on 1st October 2017.

In this article by Allen Moore, Environmental Officer, for the Celtic League Mannin Branch, in Yn Commeeys Celtiagh - Celtic News Mannin points to a visit that he made to Sutherland and the monument to the dreadful Duke of Sutherland that sadly still stands on Beinn a' Bhragaidh. There are some in Scotland who think lessons could be drawn from the destruction of Nelson's Pillar in Dublin's O'Connell Street. This was destroyed in 1966 by direct action.

The sea loch of Loch Leven (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Liobhann) is located on the west coast of Scotland. It extends for nearly nine miles and at its western end flows into Camus a' Chois, part of Loch Linnhe at North Ballachulish. Loch Linnhe is a beautiful part of Scotland, known for its fantastic scenery and sunsets. The area has a rich history with a number of Bronze Age burial sites in the vicinity. These archaeological sites point to this as a place of ritual importance that was used for special ceremonial purposes in the third and second millennia BC.

This Friday August 25th sees the start of the annual Screenplay Film Festival in Shetland which runs until September 3rd. The festival is celebrated at various venues across the islands. It features more than 80 screenings along with lectures and panel discussions involving national and international film industry professionals and film academics. The Festival also has strong local flavour and will be supporting emerging Shetland film-makers as well as encouraging the involvement of the community in the ten day event.

The physical scars of the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th century remain to this day and abandoned hillside settlements can still be seen. They are a notorious part of Scottish history with tens of thousands of men, women and children cruelly and violently evicted from their homes. Property was set on fire, even murder was committed and terrible famine and extreme poverty ensued. The Clearances began in the late 18th century and carried on in separate phases well into the 19th century.