May
31
2008
Halystorm’s Head |
The Daily Pilot reports about the 76th Annual Highland Gathering and Festival at the OC Fair and Expo on Sunday, along with many other clans. What a day this must have been!
Daniel Telford, the correspondent says:
The weekend festival invited a number of the major Scottish clans that have representatives in the U.S. to have booths and inform the public about their heritage. The booths lined the streets of the expo, offering information, T-shirts, trinkets and the chance for some to trace their genealogy.
There were also Scottish bands and music, as well as boutiques and kilt stores. |
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May
30
2008
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Archaeologists may have finally solved the enduring puzzle of the prehistoric monuments: They are giant tombstones of the dead, says a new study released today by the National Geographic Society.
Newly dated human remains unearthed at the megalithic circle in southern England reveal Stonehenge was a place of burial from its earliest beginnings some 5,000 years ago, said Mike Parker Pearson, who leads the Stonehenge Riverside Project. (Read full story.)
You can find a fascinating preview of a show to be aired on the National Geographic channel on the 1st June here. |
May
30
2008
Pic: EASE Archaeology |
The BBC reports that there are plans to excavate and reconstruct an historic but eroding burnt mound on Bressay that have been awarded more than £70,000 of funding.
Bressay History Group’s plans at Cruester follow coastal erosion threatening the site. |
Detailed plans have been made and, during June and July, archaeologists will excavate and dismantle what remains of the structures that make up the site.
The stones will be labelled and transported to a plot next to the heritage centre where the site will be reconstructed into a visitor attraction, a centre for experimental research, and offer an education programme.
Source
May
29
2008
 |
Mobile manufacturer Samsung has introduced the first phone in the world that will include an Irish language option. The ‘Tocco’ device, which will debut on these shores on 1 July next, will retail from €129 and will be available in O2, Vodafone, Meteor and Carphone Warehouse stores nationwide.
Samsung country manager, Gary Twohig, said the new phone with Irish language features is a strong statement of intent for the Irish market. |
We are now living in a modern, confident Ireland. To reflect this we decided to launch the Irish language on our leading-edge touchscreen device, Tocco.
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May
28
2008
tarotastic |
The Independent has just carried a fascinating article about the geometrical skills of the Stonehenge builders. David Keys, their Archaeology Correspondent writes:
Stone Age Britons had a sophisticated knowledge of geometry to rival Pythagoras – 2,000 years before the Greek “father of numbers” was born, according to a new study of Stonehenge.
Five years of detailed research, carried out by the Oxford University landscape archaeologist Anthony Johnson, claims that Stonehenge was designed and built using advanced geometry.
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May
27
2008
 |
George William Russell, AE, poet, artist, and mystic, a leading figure in the Irish literary renaissance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four books by AE have appeared on the Internet for you to read along with another two containing his poetry. Russell took his pseudonym from a proofreader’s query about his earlier pseudonym, “AEon.”
After attending the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, where he met the poet William Butler Yeats, Russell became an accounts clerk in a drapery store but left in 1897 to organize agricultural cooperatives. |
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May
26
2008
 |
Archaeologists have found a settlement dating back to the Bronze Age just north of Eindhoven, a city in the southern Netherlands, Dutch archaeologist Nico Arts told Dutch media Friday.
The discovery was made during preparations for the building of a highway junction at Ekkersrijt, north of Eindhoven. |
Bronze Age settlements (1500-850 BC) have also been discovered in the province of Drenthe in the eastern Netherlands. However, these are smaller than the Eindhoven settlement.
Some 4 hectares have been dug out, unveiling at least 19 farms and more than 50 other buildings and two cemeteries. All farms are built in a similar fashion and the distances from one farm to another are the same.
May
26
2008
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For some time many Cornish users have been asking for things to listen to in Cornish, well in response Matthew Clarke has set up a weekly radio show/podcast in the Cornish Language called RanG. Matthi will be recording a podcast every week for people to listen with a mix of music, news, poetry and other interesting items for people to listen to. |
Matthew is a member of the Pirate FM team and is familiar with the ways to set up good quality radio which is lucky for us in the Cornish Language community. If you would like to listen to these excellent shows/podcasts please visit http://kernewegva.podbean.com Matthew is asking for anyone with items in Cornish such as music, poetry or other interesting items to contact him at pennlorwydh@hotmail.com
May
26
2008
 |
The outcome of the first ‘regional’ language debate at the French Parliament on Wednesday (7th May) was predictably disappointing and the Government used it as an opportunity to reaffirm its authoritarian position.
The hemicycle at the Assemblée Nationale, where the debate was held, was predictably only a quarter full, as the following day (8th May) was a public holiday in France and most representatives had already returned to their home towns and cities to prepare for the coming festivities. Nevertheless Culture Minister Christine Albanel was present and even took part in the debate. |
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May
25
2008
 |
A rip-roaring ride through the history of the Emerald Isle Ireland’s story is an amazingly dramatic and intense one – and today the influence of Irish culture can be felt around the globe. This book helps you find out why, taking you on a rollercoaster journey through the highs and lows of Ireland’s past including invasions, battles, executions, religious divide, uprisings, emigration – and Riverdance! Mike Cronin is a lecturer at the Centre for Irish Programmes, Boston College, Dublin. He has written 5 books on Irish history. [Source at Amazon] |
Discover:
- When and how Ireland became Celtic
- Ireland and Britain’s complex relationship
- The evolution of Irish culture
- How Irish emigration has affected the world
- Northern Ireland’s rocky road to peace.
You can read more about this book and buy from Amazon.
