DeDanaan

Some great news today…

Ireland’s ancient Hill of Tara, once the seat of the high kings, was today named one of the world’s 100 most endangered heritage sites.

The New York-based World Monument Fund placed Tara on its crisis list after campaigns and court battles failed to reroute a controversial motorway away from it.

Since 1965, the body has saved 420 irreplaceable sites around the world, including the ancient Buddhist temple of Preah Khan at Angkor, Cambodia, built in 1191.

Read the rest here.

by Nicholas Wade
International Herald Tribune
Published: March 5, 2007

Britain and Ireland are so thoroughly divided in their histories that there is no single word to refer to the inhabitants of both islands. Historians teach that they are mostly descended from different peoples: the Irish from the Celts and the English from the Anglo-Saxons who invaded from Northern Europe and drove the Celts to the western and northern fringes.

But geneticists who have tested DNA throughout the British Isles are edging toward a different conclusion. Many are struck by the overall genetic similarities, leading some to claim that both Britain and Ireland have been inhabited for thousands of years by a single people that have remained in the majority, with only minor additions from later invaders like Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Vikings and Normans.

The implication that the Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh have a great deal in common with each other, at least from the geneticist’s point of view, seems likely to please no one. The genetic evidence is still under development, and because only very rough dates can be derived from it, it is hard to weave evidence from DNA, archaeology, history and linguistics into a coherent picture of British and Irish origins.

That has not stopped the attempt.

More here.

via BreakingNews.ie
30/12/2006 - 21:53:48

Irish language courses are more popular than ever with a record number of people attending the Gaeltacht this year.

Over 25,000 people studied in the Gaeltacht in 2006, the most there has ever been.

A thousand of those attending Irish language courses were adult learners, while the rest were young students going to summer colleges.

Gaeltacht Minister Eamon O Cuiv was very happy with the news.

“Certainly Irish is alive and kicking,” he said.

“A number of things have happened to strengthen the language in recent times: TG4, the Language Act and the recent statement by the Government in relation to the language are all major boosters.”

Things will be somewhat odd here for a while, as I’m working on the new theme. Please don’t mind the dust.

Got the webring code re-added, although I had to rewrite it and code it properly, and it passes XHTML 1.0 Strict!

I’ve recently created a very nice Amazon affiliated online store with some personally chosen Featured Products that may be of interest to this site’s visitors. It comes complete with a secure shopping cart for multiple item purchases, as well as discounts on shipping (on some items with purchases over $25), and a nice search tool if you’re looking for something specific but don’t see it in my Shoppe.

I’ve created this to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Information and tools for buying at Amazon.com are now at your fingertips.

Visit Áine’s Shoppe today, and thank you in advance for your patronage. Proceeds from Amazon.com help to keep this web site alive.

After a brief hiatus, it looks like we’re back online with all entries, comments, and miscellaneous bits intact. Much thanks to Rob Beckett, who helped tremendously in solving our MySql importation problems. Without his help, it might have taken months to painstakingly put this site back together after having moved it from the old server to the new one. Thanks to Rob for the assist!!

**Note for the future: When exporting an SQL file from within phpMyAdmin, make sure the following checkboxes are checked before saving as a File:

Under Structure - Add DROP TABLE
Under Data - Complete Inserts, and Extended Inserts

We’re both still scratching our heads over WHY mySql table collations are under latin1_swedish_ci, since some variation of UTF-8 would be the one that would tend to leave all special characters intact, but this is, apparently, the default setting for mySql. Because of this, you may notice that special characters that are required in the Irish language may not look proper in various entries here. I’m correcting them by hand, little by little, but may not have gotten to the funkiness you’re looking at just yet. Be patient, I’ll get there eventually.

by James Owen
for National Geographic News
January 20, 2006

Up to three million men living around the world today could be descended from a fifth-century Irish king, according to a new study.

Research suggests as many as 1 in 12 men in Ireland carry the genes of Niall of the Nine Hostages, bolstering claims that the ancient warlord founded a dynasty that dominated Ireland for centuries.

Some historians doubt Niall’s existence, comparing his legend to that of King Arthur.

But scientists at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland say a distinctive genetic signature on the male Y chromosome, which is passed down from father to son, leads to Niall or some similar figure.

Niall had 12 sons, according to folklore, and took nine key hostages, including Saint Patrick, as way to subdue opponents and consolidate power.
(Continued)

The End of the Rainbow

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: June 29, 2005
New York Times
Dublin

Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Ireland today is the richest country in the European Union after Luxembourg. (Continued)

By WILLIAM McCALL
Associated Press Writer
39 minutes ago

After nearly a decade of court battles, scientists plan to begin studying the 9,300-year-old skeleton known as Kennewick Man next week.

A team of scientists plans to examine the bones at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum in Seattle beginning July 6, according to their attorney, Alan Schneider.

Four Northwest Indian tribes had opposed the study, claiming the skeleton could be an ancestor who should be buried. The Interior Department and the Army Corps of Engineers had sided with the tribes.
(Continued)