Irish and Celtic Thingies
Arts, Languages

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ARTS, LANGUAGES

(This section may be a little thin but growing; hey, I'm a scientist; my artistic side has been repressed!)

(January 18, 1998: Television) The problem with trying to put things in boxes is that they never quite fit in whatever you design. That holds true for the latest addition to the Primestar Satellite Broadcaster's lineup on Channel 55: BBC America. But as it's been like a breath of fresh air for yours truly, I'm going to sing its praises for a bit. The main reason is their current showing of Ballykissangel (currently showing Tuesday-Friday 10p.m. US/Eastern), a show about which I've heard much but seen nothing till new year's day. Now after a couple of weeks, I'm hooked :-)

(January 22, 1997: Education) If you've ever had a yearning to learn more about Scotland or Celtic culture in general, and were thinking of visiting this part of the world, you might be interested in the University of Edinburgh's International Spring and Summer Courses. Looks like quite a few interesting and diverse courses... Edinburgh (That's ed'n'burra, not ee-din-burrgh!) is a fascinating place, one I all too briefly saw many years ago on a visit to the Royal Observatory there.

(Yes, I know; there's no Education section. Yet...)

(January 2, 1996 (1997?!): Arts/Language) The Cornish resources referenced on this page have always been a little thin, so it's about time I referenced something of real substance. The story about Cornwall's status is still around though (it used to be the link behind the Cornish flag).

(October 26, 1996) The Sleeping Giant refers to one of the Blaskett Islands, named presumably due to the resemblance of its silhouette with, well, a sleeping giant! This is a site I intend to explore more fully when I have time, but you'll find a lot of content here. Music (an interview with Dick Gaughan), Mythology (remember Labhras of the horse's ears?), Places (Lough Ine, a remarkable saltwater inland lake), Theatre, Renewable Energy, and more. As I got a sneak preview, some things were not quite finished (imagemaps can be a pain to set up) so if a link doesn't work, try the text banner at the bottom of their main page. You might even win a free pint of Murphy's Stout!

(October 22, 1996) I was very pleased to see that Green Linnet, the record (whups, I mean CD/Cassette; showing my age here!) label that supports many, many Irish, Celtic and other artists is on the web. While trying to find out about recent Altan and Andy M. Stewart concerts here in C'ville, I stumbled across their site, complete with audio file samples. Nice work, Dick! I also found this Review of Altan on another site.

The Tralee RTC (Regional Technical College) provides web pages on the Gaeltacht (Irish Speaking area) of Corca Dhuibhne (1996 March 13) located at the end of the Dingle Peninsula, near Dún Chaoin (Dunquin). Buíochas le Aioleann nic Gearailt; is Í a dhéanamh na leathnacha sin.

If you're interested in the Arts in Ireland, have a look at the Artservices page published by Kerna Communications. That and other projects (including Archaeology) can be accessed via the Kerna Pilots page.

The Breton flag at the top of the page used to lead to an interesting page dedicated to the Breton Language (Brezhoneg) with introductions in Breton, French, and English. Unfortunately, that resource seems to no longer be available, so I've switched it back to the original link (at SMO) for now.

Pete O'Brien has created two interesting Irish-related web pages: one on Gaeltacht na Mí (The Meath Gaeltacht or Irish-speaking area) in Rath Carn. The other is a set of resources on Ireland. If you get a "username/password" prompt on that last link, just press the "dismiss" button (unless you have a valid account at Ireland On Line!). On a related note, there is another Gaeltacht related web page about Clár Chinn Conamara.

Those of you in the UK or Ireland have probably already know about The Hanging Gale, a four-part Dramatic TV series recently (May 14, 1995) aired on the BBC. It's about the plight of a family that lived through the Irish Potato Famine, from 1845 - 1849. Those web pages were created by Stephen McGann, who not only helped conceive the idea, but also co-produced and co-starred in it (along with the three other McGann brothers). It's supposed to get world-wide circulation, so let's hope it comes to a station near you soon... see also more about the Potato Famine in the history section.

There's now an online version, complete with audio files in WAV format, of an Irish Language (Gaeilge) course on the web, thanks to -mat- brandy.

The North American Association for Celtic Language Teachers now has a web page (info from John T. McCranie).

The Curia Project has the Thesaurus Linguarum Hiberniae project at University College Cork.

For lovers of Scottish Gaelic, Sabhal Mor Ostaig now has its own web site (that link is in Gàidhlig; there's also an English version. Watch closely if you're interested in Radio na Gaedhail...

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