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Objectives

The Celtic League has sections in the Celtic countries of British Isles and in Brittany. Its goal is to promote the co-operation between these countries and it conducts campaigns in a vast range of political arenas, cultural and environmental. She fights against the violations of the human rights.

The fundamental goal of the Celtic League is to contribute, like international organization, with the fights of the six Celtic nations to fix or gain their freedom political, cultural, social and economic. This includes:

“stimulation of the co-operation between the Celtic people.
development of the conscience of the report/ratio and the solidarity particular which must be exerted between them.
to make that their fights and achievements are known abroad.
to make countryside for an association of the Celtic nations being able to be born once two or more these nations will have carried out autonomy.
to recommend the use of the resources of each Celtic country to the profit of all its people.
each nation Celtic is conditioned by a different history and thus we should not await us a uniformity of thought, but we allow under diversity to express ourselves in the Celtic league. In this way, we can better identify the fields of possible co-operation and thereafter formulate a detailed common policy. With this program, we can establish that the types of relations between our communities will enable them to appreciate our spirits of freedom compared to the individual and with the principle of community. ”

In other words, the Celtic League aims at gathering the various nationalist movements of these six countries. Very often, the cultural language and organizations play a part there. There exists a certain evolution of its objectives, which with tendency to extend to a federation taking again the lines of the Scandinavian Conseil.

This movement also makes countryside for the reunification of the Ireland, and the return of the department of the Loire-Atlantique in Brittany.

Branches

The six principal branches are usually mentioned by the name of the country in the local Celtic language. Thus, the Ireland is known like Eire , the Scotland like Alba , the Wales like Cymru , the Brittany like Breizh , the Cornwall like Kernow and the island of Man like Mannin .

There are also an international branch, and others based with the the United States and London. There was a branch with Cape-Breton, with the Canada, where a community speaking the Scot always exists.

Magazines

In 1972, Breton News takes the name of Carn, a common denomination in all the Celtic languages, and becomes the official body of the Celtic League. Carn is a quarterly magazine. The articles are written in the six Celtic languages and in English. The cover of the magazine is a representation similar to the chart of the six Celtic countries with their names. In the past, articles are also been published in French. Among contributing principal, there is Sorley MacLean, but the quality and the exactitude of the articles are strongly variable.

The American branch prints its own end-of-term report, Six Nations, One Soul , which provides news on the activities and the events of this branch within the Celtic communities to the United States. It publishes also letters of the members, and reports of book and music with Celtic topic.

Each branch published its own magazine in an episodical way.

Origin

In 1961, Alan Heusaff, with Yann Fouéré, and Gwynfor Evans and J.E. Jones, respectively president and general secretary of the Plaid Cymru, it founds in Rhosllanerchrugog, close to Wrecsam to the Wales, the Celtic Ligue , movement in which the various nationalist parties of the Celtic areas were represented. It developed out of various other side-Celtic organizations, in particular the Celtic Congrès by developing a more political speech, following the opinions of Hugh MacDiarmid and some others.

The Celtic League sent to UNO the November 4th 1965 a memorandum of 65 pages (in English) on rights of Brittany, Scotland and Wales to self-determination.

The American branch, Celtic League, American Branch (CLAB), were founded with New York in 1974.

Internal polemics

The organization is the object of occasional polemics, most notable is that of the statute of the Galicia and the Asturies as Celtic nations. The general consensus in the organization is to affirm that they are not Celtic nations as such, since they do not have any still spoken Celtic language.

Notable members and former members

For the Breton ones: Bernard Nail, Alan Heusaff, Welsh: Gwynfor Evans, the Scot: Peter Berresford Ellis and Winnie Ewing.

Political statute of the countries

The political statute of the countries is very different. The the United Kingdom and particularly the France being traditionally centralizing states.

Certain Celtic countries obtained a certain degree of autonomy, although Ireland is still divided into two shares.

the Republic of the Ireland - independent
the Northern Ireland - under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement a certain number of provision on autonomy were granted, but the various polemics between the trade unionists and the nationalists made lead to a government coming from the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland east currently under the direct cut of London.
the Island of Man, is a dependence the British crown, which is located apart from the United Kingdom and of the European Union, it has one of the parliamentary modes oldest in the world, and certainly older than that of Westminster
Scotland - its own Parlement in 1999.
obtained Wales - obtained its own Assemblée in 1999.

There exists also a campaign to obtain a Parliament of Cornwall.

Thus, three of the countries completely form part of the United Kingdom, one partially, and another is a British dependence. Brittany belongs to the French Republic, and does not have any form of political autonomy.

Others

The Celtic league should not be confused with the Celtic Congrès, which tends to being apolitical.

Yann Gwilhamod, director of the training center of the teachers of Diwan is the president of the Breton Branch of the Congress. The Celtic Congress will be held with Carhaix in 2006.

General secretaries

Alan Heusaff : (1961 - 1984)
J. Bernard Moffatt: (1984 - 1988)
Davyth Fear: (1988 - 1990)
Séamas Ó Coileáin: (1990 - 1991)
Bernard Moffatt: (1991 - 2006),
Tal-E-club-footed Rhisiart: (2006 -),

Writers of Carn

Frang MacThòmais : (1973 - 1974)
Padraig Ó Snodaigh: (1974 - 1977)
Cathal Ó Luain: (1977 - 1981)
Pedyr Pryor: (1981 - 1984)
Stalemate Bridson: (1984 - present)

The presidency and the vice-presidency functioned of 1961 with 1971 and since are removed. They were held by Gwynfor Evans and Robert McIntyre. Pádraig Ó Conchúir was President of 1972 with 1978.

External bonds

Celtic League: the branches
the American branch
the international branch
Scotland

Simple: Celtic League

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