Pan-Celticism
Pan-Celticism is the name given to a variety of movements that espouse greater contact between various Celtic countries/regions (or regarded as such).
Types of Pan-Celticism
Pan-Celticism can operate on the following levels - - Linguistic - Many organisations promote linguistic ties, notably the Gorsedd in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, and 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, 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.
The term 'Celtic'
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'. For further discussion on this matter see the wikipedia articles on the ancient Celts and modern Celts.
The Celtic regions/countries
The Celtic Congress and Celtic League consider the following to be the Celtic areas - Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales.
However, in music festivals it is common to find bands from Galicia and Asturias. Val d'Aoste in Italy is sometimes claimed as a Celtic region, as are parts of England (not just Cornwall). See also article on the Modern Celts.
Timeline of Pan-Celticism1820 : Celtic Society of Edinburgh founded1838 : First Celtic Congress, Abergavenny, Wales1845 : Tynwald recognised by UK1867 : Second Celtic Congress, Saint Brieuc, Brittany1888 : Pan-Celtic Society, Dublin1899 : Celtic Association formed at Cardiff eisteddfod1900 : First major Celtic Congress1914-1918 : First World War1919-1922 : Irish War of Independence, 2/3 of Ireland becomes Independent, Northern Ireland gets devolved government1922-1923 : Irish Civil War1923 : Breton party ‘Breizh Atao’ adopts official pan-Celtic policy1929 : a Celtic League founded in Scotland1939-1945 : Second World War and German occupation of Brittany1947 : Irish government sponsors Celtic Congress1949 : Republic of Ireland 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 Canada1961 : Modern Celtic League founded1966–1970 : Celtic Youth Congress1968 : Welsh League of Youth holds inter-Celtic camps. 1971 : Killarney pan-Celtic festival begins1977 : “Pan-Celtic News” founded1985 : Scrif Celtic, the Celtic book fair begins1997 : Columba Initiative began1999 : 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
See alsoCeltic CongressCeltic LeagueCeltsCeltic languagesModern CeltsPan-Arabism, Pan-Germanism, Pan-Slavism, Pan-Turkism
External linksColumba InitiativeCeltic League (Rugby Union)
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