Anyone wishing to explore the fascinating world of Scottish family history can access digitised sources – birth, marriage and death records, wills, census records and coats of arms – going back almost 500 years.

This link should take you there:

The team at Celtic Connexions

http://www.scotlandspeoplehub.gov.uk/index.html

happy hunting

Dont forget our plans are trips to Scotpand and Ireland next year 2011 and every year therafter, we hope

This is a fantastic tale.

Please go look  to see what we stock

THE CHILDREN OF LIR: AN IRISH LEGENDThere was a time in ancient Ireland when the people believed in magic and in druids and spells. These were the days of the Tuatha De Danann tribe, the Goddess Danu and of Lir, the lord of the sea.Lir’s wife, Eva, had given him four beautiful children. The two eldest, Fionnuala and Aodh, went swimming in a small lake. But these were no ordinary swimmers! They possessed gills for breathing and webbed feet as they were, after all, the offspring of ‘the ruler of the land beneath the waves’.They met a messenger who told them that they were wanted by their father. They went home immediately only to find their father disturbed.’What is wrong father?’ they enquired ‘Your mother has given birth to twins’ he replied ‘….and has gone off to rest’ ‘What do you mean father?’ they askedLir explained that this was what humans called ‘death’ but that since they were immortal that their mother had gone to recover, possibly for a thousand years or more. The children were to look after the new brothers, Fiachra and Conn. The children kissed their mother for the last time and then left. As the children grew Lir’s spirits declined until one day he met Aoife, the sister of his wife. Aoife was possessed of magical powers and soon enough it was known that she and Lir would marry. The new family thrived under the influence of their new mother but not for long as guilt and jealousy about the children’s real mother took its toll on Aoifes health. She fell into sickness for a year but recovered only to start to become old before here time. Aoife was a changed woman now and one day suggested that she and the children should visit their grandfather. On the journey they stopped by a lake and she encouraged the children to go for a swim. The four children played happily in the water, not noticing that their stepmother was now standing at the waters edge wearing her fathers magic cloak. ‘For too long you children have stood between your father and I, but not for much longer!’ she cried ‘We cannot be killed by you…’ Aodh replied, ‘…we are the Children of Lir and if you harm us our ghosts will haunt you!’ ‘I’m not going to kill you…..’ she shouted ‘……but I am going to change you!’ At this she bowed her head and started an incantation. The children looked at each other in fear as they saw a red and gold circle envelope them on the water. They saw Aoife open up her cloak from which the great light of a fireball emerged and hurtled towards them, burning all in its wake. The fireball hit the water and caused masses of steam to rise about the children and they soon lost all feeling in their legs, arms, shoulders and head. They soon regained their sight only to see Aoife laughing at them. Aodh tried to attack her and flailed his arms about furiously but nothing happened except the splashing of water. He turned to look at his brothers and sister only to see that they had all been turned into the most beautiful swans ever seen. Aoife scowled at them again and told them that they were to spend nine hundred years as swans, three hundred on Lough Derravaragh, three hundred on the Straits of Moyle and three hundred on the Isle of Inish Glora. To end the spell they would have to hear the bell of the new God. ‘I leave you with your voice however, and the most beautiful singing ever heard’ she said. Lir searched for his children that day, but Aoife told him that they had been attacked and killed by wild boars. Fionnuala, now in swan form, approached her father and told him what Aoife had done. Lir was furious and banished Aoife into exile as an evil demon of the air. Lir faithfully visited his children and the power of his love ensured that their time on the lake was one of bliss. He knew though that the 300 years of the first phase had passed and that the next phase of the spell was about to begin. The swans left for the Straits of Moyle, never to see their father again. Their time on the Northern Straits of Moyle were not so joyous, with frequent storms separating them, only for they to join up again. Another 300 years passed but they had survived together. They departed the cold straits and made their way towards Lough Derravaragh. They flew over the land, hoping to find their father’s fort, but it was now nothing more than ruins. They wept because they knew the time of the Tuatha De Danann was gone. They travelled West to the waters of Inish Glora and found refuge on a small saltwater lake where time passed slowly. One day an old man named Mochua visited the lake and the children enquired of him if he was a follower of the new God. The startled man asked if they were the children of Lir and they told him that they were. ‘Are you a holy man?’ asked Fiacra. ‘I am…’ came the reply. The children knew that to break the spell that they would have to hear the bell of a new God toll in their own land. Mochua told them all about his new God and all about Saint Patrick who had brought his faith to their country. The children became excited as they knew that this was the new God their stepmother had told them of. They stayed with Mochua for many years who gave them sanctuary in a small chapel which he had built. He intended to make a bell and collected old swords, shields and other metal to make it. The bell was now completed and was about to be rung when another disaster occurred. A Warrior dressed in armour entered the chapel. He had come for the children who were famed for their wonderful singing. ‘I am Liargren, King of Connaught’ he shouted, ‘My wife desires those swans and I will have them. Give them here or I will tear this building down.’ Fionnuala looked at Mochua and then said that they would agree to go away with this King. Liargen was amazed to hear her speak but soon composed himself and ordered his men to take the children away. They were being loaded onto a carriage when suddenly, the church bell tolled loudly. Time seemed to stand still, but in another instant a great white mist had been blown off the nearby lake and enveloped the children as it had done 900 years before. The mist changed into all of the colours of the rainbow before a great wind gusted it away. The children had at last been transformed back into human form. Liagren fled immediately, never to return. Mochua baptized the beautiful children who had begun to age rapidly and so it was that the children of Lir, the last of the Tuatha De Danann died soon afterwards, their legend to live on forever. The Children of Lir – An article provided by The Information about Ireland Site..(C) Copyright http://www.ireland-information.com

Please let us know if you wish a copy, and we can play a variety of music

Exploration Celtic Class by Peter Shakes

We now stock the  fabulous Peter Shakes rings and celtic jewellery. All in all now Celtic Connexions must have the most comprehensive range of wedding bands in New Zealand

I am going through a patch of nationalism.

This is a story from the Highland Clearances website about the seven men who stood up against Brockett.

I used to sing this song `The Seven Men of Knoydart`wi all my mates in the pub over and over again and it was Hamish Imlach who stirred all our young blood up

Knoydart, in the North West Highlands, was a particularly idyllic estate. However, a succession of potato blights and the failure of migrating herring shoals brought famine and poverty to the area. In 1852 the Factor was ordered to clear the tenants to make way for sheep. Four hundred people were evicted and transported to America.

In the early 1930’s, a young English aristocrat, Lord Brocket, bought the estate. Brocket was a Nazi sympathiser to the extent that he was Hitler’s personal guest at the Fuhrer’s fiftieth birthday celebrations in April 1939.

During the war years, the Knoydart Estate served a very useful purpose in the Allied war effort, much to Herr Brocket’s chagrin. Britain’s military authorities requisitioned the estate for the duration in order to house and train commandos and undercover special forces.

When peace returned in 1945, the British troops left and after some time, Lord and Lady Brocket returned to Knoydart.

heres the full story.Please take time to look at the website

http://www.highlandclearances.co.uk/clearances/postclearances_knoydartseven.htm

Click on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zmwRitYO3w

To the Haggis

Well another tartan day has come and gone.it was great here in Hamilton and I loved the pagent.Well done the organisers and Clan Maclachan or taking on the whole event. Noel and his singing group did well to learn all the various songs that accompanied the play. Johnnie Cope to the Destitution Road, and all the re-enactors well done.

The National Museum of Ireland has put on display
the 4000-year-old necklace that was nearly thrown
away with the thrash. The priceless necklace is
called a ‘Lunula’ and was recovered from an old
safe that was being disposed of in a waste-skip.
Originally the Lunula was found by Roscommon
farmer Hubert Lannon when he was cutting turf from
a bog in 1945. He gave it to the local chemist, a
man named Patrick Sheehan who secured it in a safe
where it stayed until last year when the entire
safe was stolen in a burglary. The National Museum
contacted the police and am intensive search was
launched. The thieves must have realised that there
was no way they could sell the ‘one of a kind’
artefact and dumped the entire safe in a skip.
Amazingly it has been recovered just hours before
it was to be hauled to a dump and likely lost for
another 4000 years.

Thank goodness it was kept safe` all that time

yep another really great festival

we are on u-tube as wellsee here

http://www.youtube.com/user/justjenine#p/c/B5CBA4FA5EBD8544

and pics here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/musogerard/sets/72157624312389376/

wow just once a year is just nae enuff for me

Recruited in New Zealand in 1915, the men of the Tunnelling Company arrived in France in March 1916 under the command of 33-year-old regular soldier and Boer War veteran Major J.E. Duigan. The first New Zealanders to reach the Western Front, they were a so-called non-divisional unit – not part of the New Zealand Division, which arrived from Egypt the following month.

Most of the tunnellers were quarrymen, gold miners from Waihi and Karangahake, or labourers from the Railways and Public Works departments. Others were coal miners from the West Coast of the South Island, but these workers were generally discouraged from enlisting due to the essential nature of their industry. The hardbitten tunnellers gave Duigan some disciplinary headaches. He later grumbled that he had ‘17 ex-secretaries of Labour Unions in the Unit’, as well as members of the ‘Red’ Federation of Labour. But with both the Allies and the Germans trying to tunnel under each other’s lines to lay mines, their experience was invaluable. At first, they were involved in successful efforts to foil German mining – known as counter-mining operations – just to the north-east of Arras.

In November 1916 the tunnellers moved to Arras itself. Over the next five months the New Zealanders extended the two existing underground systems and created new tunnels. They constructed a complex system of galleries, subways, kitchens, headquarters and hospitals – facilities capable of housing 20,000 men. To assist orientation, the locations in one of the systems were all given New Zealand place names, from Bluff at one extremity to Russell at the other (another tunnel system had British place names). Godley Avenue, named after the New Zealand Expeditionary Force commander, Sir Alexander Godley, linked the locations. The New Zealanders also left graffiti on the walls, including a large ‘Kia Ora’ flanked by ferns.

The men of the Tunnelling Company were not the only New Zealand troops involved in this work. For two months they were assisted by the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion, many of whose members had been part of the Native (Maori) Contingent; this unit would eventually be renamed the New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion. Later, infantrymen from the New Zealand Division also helped out.

With a major Allied push planned for April 1917, the tunnellers shifted to a more offensive role early in the year. They tunnelled towards the enemy lines from inside the cavern system and laid three mines under German trenches for detonation when the attack began. Tunnels were also driven to positions just short of the German trenches so that when the offensive was launched, troops could rapidly break through to the surface and man covering machine-guns, while others stormed the German positions. Following the attack on 9 April, the German line was pushed back 11 kilometres, and the Canadian Corps seized Vimy Ridge. As with most Western Front battles, this victory was achieved at a great cost in lives, with more than 12,000 Canadians being killed.

Following the April 1917 offensive, the tunnellers were deployed on a number of tasks in the vicinity of Arras. The underground system they helped create would prove vital to the Allies during the German offensive of 1918. The Tunnelling Company finally left the Arras area in July 1918, having suffered 41 deaths and 151 injuries during more than two years of service. The tunnels were closed after the Second World War and not rediscovered until 1990.

A great story.worth a follow up.wonder if anyone has written a book