Céad Míle Fáilte,

It is your editor, Todd, once again. In this issue we have a new episode of our own Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. The other podcasts featured are Blúiríní Béaloidis & Mostly Folk. The articles we feature include ones about the Celtic Invasion Tour, migrants being taught Irish, an acclaimed photographer taking to Instagram, the Celtic Colors festival,  and the Highland council investing in schools and roads. We also have new CDs. We hope you enjoy this issue. Until next time, slàinte mhath!

IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST #660: DROWSY DANCING BEAR

• The Drowsy Lads, Fialla, Blackthorn, Charlene Adzima, Ed Miller, Enda Reilly, Conor Mallon, Fig for a Kiss, The Crowfoot Rakes, Luas, Sharon Shannon, Drumspyder, Elias Alexander & Ramblxr, The Low Kings
• A special thanks to our new and continued Patrons of the Podcast: Patricia or Trish, David Willer

Listen to the Show

IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC: BEST OF 2024 PLAYLIST

• Every week, Patrons of the Podcast vote in the Celtic Top 20. Those votes are tabulated two weeks later. The most-popular songs are added to these playlists.
• You can vote for your favorite by following the link in this week's show.

Listen on Spotify

CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20

• Every year, I publish the Celtic Top 20. This is your pick of the best, most-popular songs of the year. But to make the show great, I need you to vote for your favorite songs in each episode.
• Just list each of the bands performing those favorite songs to quickly and easily cast your vote.

Vote in the Celtic Top 20

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST

The bands you listen to each week rely on your generosity and financial support. Just like this podcast. Your patronage allows us to create a free show for thousands of people week. It only costs you as little as one dollar per episode on Patreon. Join on Patreon now.

SCOTTISH WHISKY & HIKING

• Taste Scottish whisky and hike off the whisky in some of Scotland's grand locations. To that end, we will fly into Inverness. Drive through Speyside, past Edinburgh into the Lowlands before making our way back up to the Highlands. We will hit at least three of the Scottish whisky regions with this plan. But it's not just about the whisky. It's also about the hiking. We will spend 1-2 hours in between tastings to hike local sites, take pictures, and soak up the countryside.

Join the Invasion.

New CDs

• Get weekly updates of New CDs in our Celtic Music Magazine and download 34 Celtic MP3s for free at bestcelticmusic.net.  #NewCelticCDs
• Over The Horizon – by Fragment
• Echoes of the Ancients – by Zophayel
• Celtic Music Beautiful Emerald – by Celtic Emerald Dreams
• Voices and Harps IV – by Moya Brennan and Cormac de Barra
• Celtic Dreamscape – by Bruno Flores

Attn Bands: Go to 4celts.com to submit your band to the podcast.

Blúiríní Béaloidis 39 – Bees In Tradition (with Tiernan Gaffney)

• Bees have been cultivated in Ireland since early times. Of value for their wax and honey, there were also believed to be blessed creatures, as Dáithí Ó hÓgáin writes: “probably because of the use of their wax to make church candles, and one medieval legend describes a swarm of bees building a little container around a lost communion wafer to protect it.

Listen to the Podcast

MIGRANTS WILL BE TAUGHT IRISH LANGUAGE TO HELP DEVELOP A ‘SENSE OF IDENTITY’ IN IRELAND

• A NEW initiative will see migrants who have arrived in Ireland being taught the Irish language in a bid to help them settle into their new home towns.
• Launched by Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne in Dublin this week, the Céad Míle Fáilte scheme will provide new arrivals with language classes and workshops to help them learn and use the language.

Read the Blog

MOSTLY FOLK: EPISODE 674: SIMONE KEANE

• This episode highlights Simone Keane.

Listen to the Show

ACCLAIMED PHOTOGRAPHER CRACKS INSTAGRAM IN HIS 80S

• In the picturesque village of Tintern, in south Wales, an elderly gentleman can often be found taking pictures at community events and family celebrations.
• But David Hurn, 89, is far from your average photographer.
• Over the past seven decades he has documented everything from the Aberfan disaster to the Beatles at the height of Beatlemania.

Visit the site

CELTIC COLOURS

• The Celtic Colours International Festival is a unique celebration of Cape Breton Island’s living traditional culture. For nine days in October you’ll discover hundreds of events and activities taking place in communities across the Island. The festival runs from October 11 – 19.

Find out more information

HIGHLAND COUNCIL UNVEILS 20-YEAR PLAN TO INVEST £2BN IN SCHOOLS AND ROADS

• Highland Council has unveiled plans to invest £2bn in schools and roads over the next 20 years.
• Chiefs said it would mean higher council tax bills but it is also pledging to generate extra income.

Read the Blog

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHILE LISTENING?

You can send a comment or a picture of what you're doing. You can also send a photo from one of your trips to a Celtic nation or anywhere around the globe.

Slainte!

Todd Wiley & Marc Gunn, The Celtfather

May 9, 2024

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