SIMILARITY TO OTHER MOVEMENTS
All in all, the Irish and their fellow Celts do have a past worth going back
to. Celtic folklore and traditional thinking, in fact, present a culture not
too unlike the cultures of indigenous peoples around the world, including that
of the Native American peoples which many of us in the U. S. are looking to
for inspiration. A strong comparison could be made between the goals of Gaelic
nationalism, the goals of American bioregional movements, and those of the American
Indian Movement (AIM). Commonalities include attachment to a particular locality,
preference for local government, environmental consciousness, pushes toward
self-sufficiency, pride in traditional culture, respect for the wisdom of the
elders, belief in the need to rebuild community from the ground up, and belief
in working locally as well as nationally.
However, unlike the U. S. focus on the preservation of the environment and alternatives
to national policies, the key to re-emergence of New Gaul seems to be language
revival. (When asked how best to help the Celtic political movements, proponents
reply, "Speak the language.") Having watched groups of Europeans singing
together the songs they have sung since childhood, I can testify to how strong
a reinforcement such a common basis can be. How to recover it is the controversial
question. The languages were lost in all cases by compulsion, and many feel
they must be reinstated by compulsion. However, in Ireland, where this was attempted
by teaching Irish (what American have come to call "Gaelic") in the
elementary schools. with all the usual memorization and grammar, many Irish
have developed a bad taste for learning and using the language. Myself, I believe
that the languages will be reborn when songs start to be written and sung in
them. After all, many Germans say they learned English because of American rock
and roll, and the British often have learned American English - as opposed to
their own Cockney or Liverpudlian - in order to sing in the mass media. Looked
at in this light, the appearance of musical groups singing and writing in the
native tongue is a very hopeful sign.
I spoke to one young German tourist in Ireland (Germans have practically adopted
Ireland the way San Francisco hippies did Marin and Sonoma - land is cheap and
there are no restrictions on foreign citizens purchasing it, and there are many
entrepreneurial opportunities; Celtic music is also very popular in Germany)
who expressed grave concern over a nationalism he feared was implied in the
new push toward Celtic autonomy, a nationalism accompanied at musical concerts
by group repetition of slogans and giving of the power salute (fear of nationalism
has become the new German angst, thankfully). But I don't think this is the
direction things are going. Despite their focus on revival of ancient ways,
many of the advocates of the Celtic revival also support anti-nuclear, environmental,
and protection of the third world programs, and in fact, often make their voices
known through parties supporting these foremost. I came away with the feeling
that it is not a nation above others that is advocated, but a nation among nations;
after centuries of subjugation, there is a need to find themselves first before
being able to enter into agreements <with their own voice> with the international
community.
It also doesn't appear to me to be a lack that problems are not defined by a
need to form bioregions. In the U. S., bioregional movements, inspired by the
thinking of Peter Berg and his Planet Drum News, are working to redefine community
by looking at how we fit into natural geographic regions that have common characteristics
of climate, water flow, native plants and animals, etc. Using such characteristics
to define our communities can be an important step for us in defining common
goals for how our lives should be, enabling like-minded folks to find each other
and work together among the amorphous masses which surround us in our populous
areas. There is no need to reawaken such a sense of place among a people who
have been living in the same one for generations. Ireland, for example, still
has most of its trout streams, and when people figure out that industrialization
may pollute their local fishing stream, there may be strong opposition. (A trip
to Ireland leads to the discovery that a vast number of Irish songs sung there,
as opposed to the rabble-rousing, drinking Irish songs which we hear in the
U. S., are romantic songs about the beauty of particular spots of land, or stories
about how much the singer misses them. This dicotomy is not surprising, for
a song about the beauty of Ballyshannon or the valley of Strathmore means a
great deal more to someone who has driven by them on the way to market numerous
times since childhood and seen them covered with flowers or deep in snow, then
to those of us to whom they are only nice-sounding names.) Some significant
ecology actions have taken place in the Celtic movement already: against the
nuclear power station planned at Plogoff near Cap Sizhun (1980); against a pipeline
and an aqueduct taking water from the Claerwen reservoir and the Elan Valley
in Wales to Birmingham, England (1952 and 1954) and the attempt to flood the
Tryweryn Valley to provide water for Liverpool (1957); and for a demilitarization
of the Island of Manx, and a declaration of it as a nuclear-free zone (1977).
In the Celtic nations, the real battleground will probably be in economics,
against the powers of the multi-nationals, much as it is in so many third world
nations. Ireland, for example, no longer produces ANY of its own food, even
the potato! (Though the country appears mostly rural, most land is devoted to
raising either beef cattle or wool sheep as cash crops for export.) The Cornish
are upset about the use of their country for vacation homes by the British,
which has turned the area into a Coney Island tinsel town. Self-sufficiency
is of course highly elusive in modern times, but when most of your younger generation
has to migrate in order to find jobs, it irks the soul. And the older folk in
these places are already reminiscing about the good times before the automobile
made travel easy and unimportant (although no one believed it when I mentioned
that there were places like San Francisco that already had so many automobiles
that there were no places to park).
For those of us on other continents, the localized political battles of the
Celtic Renaissance Movement seem equally far away, exotic, and out-of-touch.
But the summer of 1985?? (unfortunately the wettest in a hundred years), Ireland
had more American visitors than it had ever had before, and more American visitors
than from any other country. The Celtic lands, traditional vacationlands for
the English, are being yearly discovered by many of us interested in a culture
that still has strong ties to the land (much to the bewilderment of the average
Irish citizen, who can't quite fathom what attraction Irish culture has to folks
of other nations - few of them have experienced how un-nation-like the U. S.
is). Not only does the Guinness and music flow freely, but the Irish, Bretons,
and Welsh (and perhaps others which I was not able to visit) are eager to hear
about the outside world and share their culture.
So, if you're thinking of visiting, here is a guide to some
ways to connect with the growing cultural renaissance. They'll probably be surprised,
but glad to hear from you; most are aware that the movement is unknown outside
the area. Unfortunately, us English speakers probably are more of a hindrance
than help in their language revival, but buying their indigenous-language records
and books will help get more of them recorded and published.
SHOPS AND CENTERS:
Breizh (Brittany):
Ar bed Keltiek, 2, rue Gradlon, Quimper (across from the tourist office) (the
grand-daddy of the rest)
Ar bed Keltiek, Place Guerin, St-Martin, Brest
Paradoz Ar Celted, 22, Rue du Mur, Morlaix
Enez Avalon, 11, Rue St. Pierre, Nantes (opened June 1985) (near the cathedral)Eire
(Ireland):
Celtic Bookshop, 6 Harcourt Street, Baile Atha Cliath [Dublin] 2
Claddath Records, 2 Cecilia Street, Baile Atha Cliath [Dublin] 2
The Irish Record Shop, Green Street, Dingle, County Kerry
An Cafe Litearta, Dingle, County Kerry (owned by a German who strongly encourages
the use of the Irish language and stocks a great collection of Irish language
and culture books and records; write for their catalog)United States:
Galway Traders, 7518 - 15th Avenue, NW, Seattle, Washington 98117 - (206) 784-9343
Celtic Crafts, P. O. Box 443, Occidental, California 95465
(Imports from Ar bed Keltiek in Quimper)
FESTIVALS:
Breizh [Brittany]:Pan-Celtic Festival, L'Orient, July (go to this one if you
can't get to any others)
Fete de Cornouaille, Quimper, July
Grand Traditional Folk Festival, Qimperle (Finistere), May
Dozens of festivals in small towns in July, plus "Fest Noz's" (small
village evening dance and music gatherings) announced on posted flyers
For information on dates, contact French Tourist Offices (no earlier than March)
for brochure "France in Holiday Mood".
Eire [Ireland]:
Fleagh Cheoil nhEireann, end of August, different town every year (Irish Tourist
Office has information) - grand-daddy of them all; a three day bash of pub-singing
and Guiness-drinking attended by every Irish traditional musicians who can make
it, since 1951.
Fleadh Nua, May.
Mannin [Isle of Mann]:
Yn Chruinnaght (The Gathering) - week-long inter-Celtic festival revived from
its origin in the 1920s.
Kernow [Cornwall]:
Lowender Peran Inter-Celtic Festival, held at Perranporth, Cornwall in October
1985. For information: Mrs. Pat Crewes, 8 Tywarnhayle Road, Perranporth.
RECORDS:
Bretonne: Alan Stivell / Ars Korrigan / Dan Ar Bras / Gilles Servat / Gweltaz
(Chantes Celtique) / Gwendal / Kouerien / Kornog / Myrdhin (harp) / Sonerien
Du / Tri Yann (Suite Gallaise; Si Mort A Mors; Dix Ans Dix Filles; An Naoned)
/ Triskell
Irish: The modern outpouring of traditional Irish music all dates back to one
evening in 1960 when Sean O'Riada, a legendary musician in his own right and
a professor of music, gathered together eight musicians at his home in Dublin
and taught them to play traditional Irish music in ways they had never considered
before (using harmonies and orchestration of the various traditional instruments).
Five of these later formed the Chieftains, who have become legendary in Ireland
and who have inspired the formation of The Bothy Band, De Danaan, Planxty, Clannad,
Horslips, and numerous others. There is also an international organization of
traditional Irish musicians, formed in 1951, called Comholtas Ceoltoiri Eireann
(main office is Belgrave Square, Monkstown, County Dublin). They originated
and hold the Fleagh Cheoil each year, plus many other festival and events.Alba
[Scotland]: Tannahill Weavers / Silly WizardDown Home
BOOKS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS:
The Celtic Revolution by Peter Berresford Ellis; Y Lolfa Cyf., Talybont, Ceredigion
SY24 5HE, Wales, 1985 (available at Ar bed Keltiek in Quimper)
Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction by George Bain; New York: Dover, 1973
(originally Glasgow, 1951).
The Book of Conquests; The Silver Arm; Erinsaga: all by Jim Fitzpatrick, a young
Irish artist who has heard the Celtic tales since childhood, studied modern
art and graphics, and fasts for inspiration to do these volumes of the ancient
tales with traditional Celtic motifs; information from De Danaan Press, 148
Sandyford Road, Dundrum, Dublin, 17.
Carn: Quarterly Periodical of the Celtic League; membership and subscriptions
($14 U. S.): Alan Heusaff, General Secretary, 9 Br. Cnoc Sion, Dromchonrach,
Ath Cliath [Dublin] 9, Eire; OR Alexei Kondratiev, U. S. Correspondence Co-ordinator,
P. O. Box 322, Rego Park, N. Y. 11374. (Articles in various Celtic languages
plus English on many issues of the Celtic revival.)
Breizh (10 issues/year for 100 Francs); CCP 2 135 53 V Rennes, Brittany.
An Baner Kernewek (The Cornish Banner) (5 Pounds English, 6.5 Pounds Airmail);
CNP Publications, Trelispen, Gorran, St. Austell, Kernow [Cornwall].
FILMS:
Celtic Film and Television Festival held in Cardiff, Wales each April?
Jowan Chy an Horth, directed by Sarah Smart Wood for Vegville Enterprises (in
Cornish) (1984)
An Canker Seth -- An Scath (The Crab Pot - The Boat), directed by J. Phillips
for Television South West Ltd. (in Cornish) (1984)
Ny Kirree Fo Niaghtey (The Sheep Under the Snow), directed by Shorys y Creayrie
for Foillan Films of Laxey (first film ever in Manx) ( 1984)
How about someone organizing a touring (sub0titled) Celtic Film Festival??