Pan-Celticism
Pan-Celticism is the name given to a variety of movements that espouse greater contact between the various Celtic countries.
Pan-Celticism can operate on the following levels -
* Linguistic - Many organisations promote linguistic ties, notably the
Gorsedd in
Wales,
Cornwall and
Brittany, and the
Irish government sponsored
Columba Initiative between
Scotland and
Ireland. Often, there is a split here between the Scots, Irish and Manx, who use Q-Celtic
Gaelic languages and the Welsh, Cornish and Breton who speak P-Celtic
Brythonic languages* Cultural - The main organisation promoting cultural contacts is the
Celtic Congress.
* Music - Inter-Celtic festivals are extremely fashionable now, some of the most notable including those at
Lorient,
Killarney/Kilkenny/Letterkenny and
Celtic Connections in
Glasgow* Political - The
Celtic League is the main Pan-Celtic political organisation, although there are others.
Plaid Cymru and the
Scottish National Party have co-operated at some levels in
Westminster and Plaid Cymru often asks questions in Parliament about
Cornwall and cooperates with
Mebyon Kernow. Political pan-Celticism can be taken to include everything from a full federation of independent Celtic states, to occasional political visits.
* Sporting - This is much less common, although Scotland and Ireland play each other at
Hurling and
Shinty internationals. There is also the
Celtic League (Rugby Union), and teams from Cornwall and Brittany sometimes engaged in
wrestling matches.
There is great controversy surrounding this term for a variety of reasons. One of these is that some consider it to be an inaccurate term to be applied to modern day peoples, and another is that others do not think that there is sufficient evidence of a link between the ancient Celts and the new 'Celts'. However since most Pan Celtic enthusiasts support the view that modern or 'Atlantic Celts' speak, or have spoken a Celtic language within recent history, the term 'Celtic' is a just one. Atlantic Celts, while bearing little genetic simularity to modern peoples occupying the so called 'Celtic Homelands' of central Europe, do share remarkable genetic markers with each other. The obvious conclusion is that Atlantic Celts are culturally 'Celtic', whilst being racially indigenous to the Western fringe of Europe. The term 'Celtic' does not, nor could it ever, constitute a racial grouping. Rather it is cultural and intrinsically international in nature. For further discussion on this matter see the wikipedia articles on the
ancient Celts and
modern Celts.
See also: Modern CeltsThe
Celtic Congress and
Celtic League consider the following to be the
Celtic nations -
*
Brittany*
Cornwall*
Ireland*
Isle of Man*
Scotland*
WalesHowever, in music festivals it is common to find bands from
Galicia and
Asturias.
*
Galicia*
AsturiasThe
Aosta Valley and
Friuli in
Italy are sometimes claimed as Celtic regions, as are parts of England (and rarely, the whole). See also article on the
Modern Celts. In the last few years there has also been a process of "Celtic revival" in Northern
Portugal. The
Iberian connection it not as tenuous as it may seem. While the languages of the area are largely
Latinate and have been for many centuries, the people themselves are almost certainly partly descended of
Celtiberian stock, and their musical traditions share a lot in common with those of
Brittany,
Wales and
Cornwall. However it is generally claimed that the 'litmus test' of celticness is a Celtic language.
In the Western Hemisphere there are notable Celtic enclaves in western maritime
Canada (which has produced a number of world-class
bagpipers, and has a notable population of
Irish and
Scottish Gaelic speakers), and the
Patagonia region of
Argentina, which has enough
Welsh speakers to support a Welsh-language radio station. The Celtic
diaspora in the
Americas, as well as
New Zealand and
Australia, is significant and organized enough that there are numerous organizations, cultural festivals and university-level language classes available in major cities throughout these regions. One of the best research libraries in the world for Celtic language and history materials is at the
University of Wisconsin. Scottish games and music events, in particular, often draw thousands of participants, even in rural areas of the
U.S., and are becoming increasingly pan-Celtic in tone. The annual
San Francisco Celtic Music and Arts Festival runs for several days in a row, and fills a former military building larger than most aircraft hangars, to near capacity. Besides the Spanish and Portugues, many
Germans,
French and
Italians consider themselves at least partly Celtic (and are generally correct, from a genetic viewpoint - the
Franks and other
Nordic invaders of west central Europe did blend to an extent with the earlier
Gaulish inhabitants, and the
Cisalpine Gauls of northern Italy are surely still well-represented among modern Italian bloodlines. Even the far East evidences a vicarious pan-Celtic interest; the journal (mostly in
Japanese)
Studia Celtica Japonica is well regarded among scholars. (See also
Modern Celts for more detail on the Celtic diaspora.)
*
1820 : Celtic Society of
Edinburgh founded
*
1838 : First Celtic Congress,
Abergavenny,
Wales*
1845 :
Tynwald recognised by
UK*
1867 : Second Celtic Congress,
Saint Brieuc,
Brittany*
1888 : Pan-Celtic Society,
Dublin*
1899 : Celtic Association formed at
Cardiff eisteddfod*
1900 : First major Celtic Congress
*
1914-
1918 :
First World War*
1919-
1922 :
Irish War of Independence, five-sixths of
Ireland becomes independent,
Northern Ireland gets devolved government
*
1922-
1923 :
Irish Civil War*
1923 : Breton party ‘
Breizh Atao' adopts official pan-Celtic policy
*
1929 : a Celtic League founded in Scotland
*
1939-
1945 :
Second World War and German occupation of Brittany
*
1947 :
Irish government sponsors Celtic Congress
*
1949 :
Republic of Ireland formed.
*
1952 : Collapse of Celtic Union. A new Celtic Association is also formed in
London after a rally of 10,000 people.
*
1953 : First Celtic Congress of
Canada*
1961 : Modern
Celtic League founded at
Rhosllanerchrugog*
1968 :
Welsh League of Youth holds inter-Celtic camps.
*
1971 :
Killarney pan-Celtic festival begins
*
1977 : "Pan-Celtic News" founded
*
1985 : Scrif Celtic, the Celtic book fair begins
*
1997 :
Columba Initiative began
*
1999 : Scotland and Wales are devolved and the
Cornish Constitutional Convention is created finally collecting over 50000 signatures endorsing the call for a
Cornish Assembly.
*Late 1990s: Scottish and Irish Youth parliaments begin
*
Celtic Congress*
Celtic League*
Celts
*
Celtic music*
Celtic Languages*
Modern Celts*
Peter Berresford Ellis*
Alan Heusaff*
Nationalism*
Pan-Arabism,
Pan-Africanism,
Pan-Germanism,
Pan-Slavism,
Pan-Turkism*
Columba Initiative*
The Celtic League*
Celtic League American Branch*
Celtic Nations*
Map of Celtic Nations*
Celtic Alliance of America*
CAA Forum*
Livejournal Pancelticists Forum*
Celtic Congress*
The Celtic Realm*
Campaign for a Cornish Assembly*
Celtic Solidarity*
Celtic Nation*
This is Kernow*
Pan Celtic Music*
Celtic League (Rugby Union)
