has a mountainous inland area, and a rugged coastline of cliffs, lagoons, beautiful beaches and small islands. An issue raised on occasion is the question of why the Six Nations of Cornwall, Brittany, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales are specifically identified as Celtic and only these six. Various Nationalist parties Where is the seventh Celtic nation? Romans calling the land Gallaecia, and the people the Gallaeci. The position of Galicia within the Celtic world has long been the subject of contention, with scholars describing the region’s Celtic heritage while institutions of Pan-Celticism point to the region’s failure to meet the ’linguistic Criterion’ for inclusion. In our struggle to preserve the Celtic languages and Celtic cultures, we are all allies. The skirl of busking bagpipers swirls around Santiago de Compostela's grand square, Praza do Obradoiro, daily. War, and Galicia finally became an Autonomous Community in 1981.The Celtic music tradition is alive and well in Galicia - our own Hamish recorded a great interview with famous local musician Celtic ruins of Castro de Santa Tegra (Santa Tecla)Celtic ruins of Castro de Santa Tegra, southern Galicia, looking north GALICIA .
with a population of almost 3 million. And it is the existence of the Celtic language that defines the modern Celtic nation.Twenty years ago this year the Author and Celtic historian Long
The ensuing debate, known in the Pan Celtic movement as the “Galician Crisis”, caused the definition of a Celt to be thoroughly analyzed and assessed. The landscape is dotted with ancient dolmen, hill forts, expanding kingdom.Several hundred years later the Galician culture and I was instrumental in persuading the Celtic League to reject an application from Galicia as a Celtic country. But I believe we are engaged in a struggle for survival, a struggle to revitalize the Celtic tongue in Cornwall and on the Isle of Man. That is central. The flower of Celtic culture today is Galician music, led by the bagpipe (gaita). Legend has it that the ancient Galicians sailed from the north-west coast of their land, to settle in Ireland. This decision caused an immediate controversy for it implied that the language criterion was no longer valid. Celtic is a linguistic term; a Celt is one who speaks or was known to have spoken within modern historical times a Celtic language. in Latin was 'Calaicia', is probably where the name Galicia originated, with the What follows focuses on the “Galician Question” but allows us to share a working definition of what constitutes a Celtic Nation.The Pan-Celtic movement is built on the recognition that Bretons, Cornish, Welsh, Manx, Irish and Scots benefit from a special relationship with one another due to a shared identity.
is one of the four official languages of Spain, spoken by most of the inhabitants It is bordered on the east by the other Celtic region of Asturias, and to the south by the country of Portugal.
An identity that is rooted in the distinct living Celtic language of each of the Six Nations.
An ancient Celtic mother goddess named Cailleach, who's name At the League’s annual gathering meeting in Edinburgh in October of 1986, on the single vote cast by the chairman of the session, the League accepted the principle that Galicians and Asturians of North-West Spain constituted Celtic communities.
Yet, it is the shared linguistic heritage that primarily defines Celtic identity and drives the Pan-Celtic movement. of the tomb of the Apostle Santiago (St.James), started the pilgrimages of thousands for Galicia in 1937, but it did not come into force because of the Spanish Civil Galicia is a Celtic region of north-west Spain, with its own regional parliament, the Galician Council, or 'Xunta de Galicia". The language now spoken there (Galego) is a dialect close to Portuguese but influenced by Castilian. language was only alive in the poorer people of the land, until a 19th century It is also true that history, mythology and the bitter legacy of persecution at the hands of the English and French nation states bind us together. Over the years there have been persistent calls for the inclusion of the North Western Spanish provinces of Galicia and Asturias within the family of modern Celtic Nations. According to the archaic text Breoghan is said to have built the oldest lighthouse Top pipers such as Carlos Núñez and Susana Seivane are Galician folk heroes. The autonomous region of Galicia, Spain, is the seventh Celtic Nation and the least known of the group. that remain to this day. It is bordered on the east by the other Celtic region of Asturias, and to the south by the country of Portugal.This arose in the 1920s-30s, and the Spanish parliament approved the Autonomy Statute It is important therefore that we focus our efforts on preserving these living languages. The Swabians ruled the land for 170 years, calling it on hilltops. The folklore of the area shows its Celtic origins, and the traditional musical instrument is the 'Gaita', or bagpipe. I believe the focus of the Pan-Celtic movement should be on the nations where there are still living Celtic languages, which are the Six Celtic Nations.Peter Berresford Ellis' book "Celtic Dawn" is available from both Amazon.com (US$) and Amazon.co.uk (GB£): Galicia is a Celtic region of north-west Spain, with its own regional parliament, In Search of the Galician Identity (via Éire) Many of us – interested in Irish Studies – may have heard about the Lebor Gabála (translated as Book of Invasions or Book of the Taking of Ireland), an important Irish text (with different versions) composed during the Middle Ages that narrates the origins of the different Celtic tribes that peopled Ireland. The Celtic tribes had heavily settled the area by the 5th century B.C., and lived in 'Castroes', circular fortified
invaded and taken by Islamic warriors, who left Galiza largely untouched.