Blogs

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and in the northern hemisphere, it can fall on different dates from year to year, between 20 and 22 June. In the southern hemisphere it is between December 20 and December 23. In the Celtic nations in 2016, it falls on Monday 20 June. The winter solstice which is the shortest day of the year falls between 20 and 22 December.  In the Celtic homelands in 2016, this will fall on 21 December .

The Round Ireland Yacht Race began yesterday. The 63 yachts taking part set out on the 1,130 km 704 nautical mile journey from Wicklow (Irish: Cill Mhantáin) harbour. The Round Ireland Race is held every two years. The first boats are due back at Wicklow Head early on Moday morning. Progress of the race can be followed at: http://yb.tl/wicklowroundireland2016

By 2021 there will be an additional 180 highly paid professional positions within the EU bureaucracy for fluent Gaelic speakers.  This has come about as a result of the European Council policy for the upgrading of the Irish Language to “Fully Official EU Status”.

The Swansea chapter of RhAG (Parents for Welsh Medium Education) are submitting a demand to the local Council for two additional Welsh Medium schools to meet surging demand.  There are presently 11 Wesh Medium schools in Swansea but in some districts the number of pupils enrolled in Welsh Medium classes has caused over crowding.

News From The Irish Branch Of The Celtic League:

Local residents in Frongoch (near Y Bala, North Wales) organised a series of events on the weekend of June 10th and 11th 2016 to commemorate the Frongoch Internment camp and the 1,800 Irish men who were interned there after the Easter Rising in 1916. As the organisers stated:

News from the Celtic League:

‘Your life is turned upside down in minutes’

A moving expression of sympathy from the widower of murdered campaigning Irish journalist Veronica Guerin to the husband of British MP Jo Cox.

Speaking on RTE Radio Graham Turley described father-of-two Brendan Cox as being in the same position he found himself in 20 years ago.

The football fans of the Republic of Ireland continue to win friends in France as the 2016 UEFA European Championship (the international men's football championship of Europe) continues. The Championship started on 10 June and ends on 10 July 2016. Irish fans have been heavily praised by locals for their impeccable behaviour in the French capital this week. Pictures of Irish fans changing a tyre for an elderly couple in France spread around social media sites.

Protests have taken place around the world to stop the exportation of Irish Greyhounds to countries which do not have sufficient animal welfare protection, in particular Macau, China. Mick Barry TD (Member of the Irish Parliament), who was elected for the People Before Profit–Anti-Austerity Alliance group for the Cork North–Central constituency in the 2016 Irish general election has raised the issue in Dáil Éireann (Assembly of Ireland).

Frongoch internment camp in north Wales was used to hold Irish Republican prisoners from the 1916 Rising.  A series of events were held at Frongoch on Junes 10th - 11th 2016 to mark the centenary of the internment camp and its importance in the Irish War of Independence. As reported on BBC Cymru a march took place which was supported amongst others by a number of groups from Ireland and Wales.

The Brest International Maritime Festival will be held from 13th to 19th July 2016. The City of Brest is in Finistère (Breton: Penn-ar-Bed) in the west of Brittany. Brest's history has always been linked to the sea. Every four years, it hosts the international festival of the sea, boats and sailors. This year a flotilla of 1,500 boats will enter the bay providing a unique opportunity to see the world’s most beautiful ships and to learn about the world’s many seafaring cultures. All of this will take place in a festival of music, inspired by the sea and by sailors.