The Celtic heritage has been a central element of national and regional identity in the modern British Isles and in Brittany, and the modern political and cultural identity of the Celtic nations is in many ways the most visible and most contested element of the Celtic legacy today. The Celtic identity of the modern nations takes different forms in different countries, ranging from the highly developed cultural and political institutions of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland to the smaller but determined movements of Brittany, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man, but the common thread is the use of the older Celtic heritage as a foundation for modern identity, the struggle to maintain and revive the Celtic languages in the face of pressure from English and French, and the continuing connection with the intellectual and artistic achievements of the Celtic revival of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
This page is part of the broader survey of Celtic legacy today and examines the modern Celtic identity of each of the six Celtic nations, the language policies and language revival movements, and the broader political and cultural significance of Celtic identity today.
Ireland
The Celtic heritage has been a central element of Irish national identity since the cultural revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Irish Free State, established in 1922, and the later Republic of Ireland, established in 1949, both adopted elements of the older Celtic past into their official symbolism, including the harp, the shamrock, the Celtic cross, and the High Cross of the early Irish church. The Irish constitution recognizes Irish as the first official language of the country, and although the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht regions are a small fraction of the total population, the Irish language has a special symbolic importance as a marker of national identity.
The cultural institutions of modern Ireland have all been important in maintaining the older Celtic heritage. The Abbey Theatre, founded in 1904 by W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and Edward Martyn, has been a central element of modern Irish cultural life. The Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge), founded in 1893, a significant force in the language revival movement. The National Museum of Ireland, the National Library of Ireland, and the Royal Irish Academy have all been important in the preservation and the study of the older Irish heritage.
The political expression of Irish Celtic identity has been substantial. The founding of Sinn Féin in 1905, the Easter Rising of 1916, the War of Independence of 1919-1921, and the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 were all, in part, products of the cultural program of the Irish revival. The Constitution of 1937, which is the foundation of the modern Irish state, recognizes the special position of the Irish language and the Gaelic culture, and the Republic of Ireland Act of 1948 removed the last constitutional links with the British Commonwealth.
The modern Irish language revival has been only partially successful. The number of Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht regions has been declining, and the proportion of the population that speaks Irish as a first language is small. The introduction of compulsory Irish in the schools and the establishment of the Gaeltacht regions as Irish-speaking areas have helped to maintain the language, and the broadcasting service TG4 and the radio station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta have given the language a public presence.
Scotland
The Celtic identity of modern Scotland is complicated by the existence of two distinct linguistic and cultural traditions: the Gaelic-speaking Highlands and Islands, and the Scots-speaking Lowlands. The Scottish Gaelic language, despite centuries of decline, remains an important element of Scottish cultural identity, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act of 2005 recognized Scottish Gaelic as an official language of Scotland, giving it equal status with English in the region.
The political expression of Scottish identity draws on a sense of distinct Scottish identity that includes both the Gaelic and the Scots traditions. The founding of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1934, the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 by the Scotland Act of 1998, and the referendum on Scottish independence of 2014, in which 45% of the voters chose independence, were all, in part, products of the long history of Scottish distinctiveness. The modern Scottish Celtic revival has been particularly associated with the figure of Sorley MacLean, the great twentieth-century Gaelic poet whose work has been translated into many languages and who has had a substantial influence on the modern Scottish literary tradition.
The Scottish Gaelic language has been the focus of substantial language revival efforts. The Gaelic Media Board (Bòrd na Gàidhlig), established in 2005, has been the central body for the promotion of the Gaelic language, and the Gaelic-medium education sector has grown substantially since the 1980s. The BBC Alba television channel, launched in 2008, an important element in the language revival, and the Mòd, the Scottish Gaelic cultural festival, continues to be held annually.
The figure of William Wallace, the great Scottish leader of the late thirteenth century who led the resistance to English rule and was executed in London in 1305, a significant element of modern Scottish national identity. Robert the Bruce, who led the Scottish victory at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and who became King Robert I of Scotland, is another central figure of the modern Scottish national identity.
Wales
The Celtic heritage is similarly central to the political and cultural identity of modern Wales. The Welsh Language Act of 1967 and the Welsh Language (Measure) of 2011 have given Welsh an official status that has helped to maintain the language in the face of intense pressure from English. The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 established the Welsh language as an official language of Wales, and the Welsh Language Commissioner (Comisiynydd y Gymraeg) has been responsible for promoting the language and ensuring compliance with the official status requirements.
The National Eisteddfod of Wales, held annually in different locations, is one of the largest cultural festivals in Europe, with attendance of 150,000 or more during the week of the festival. The festival, with its chairing and crowning of the bard, its prose and verse competitions, and its elaborate ritual of the Gorsedd of Bards, is a central element of modern Welsh cultural identity. The festival has its origins in the medieval period, but it was transformed in the nineteenth century by the work of the reformers of the Gorsedd into a major cultural institution.
The political expression of Welsh identity has been substantial. The Senedd (Welsh Parliament), established in 1999 by the Government of Wales Act 1998, a significant element in the political expression of Welsh identity. The Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), founded in 1925, a significant political force in Wales since the 1960s, and the devolution referendums of 1997 and 2011 were major events in modern Welsh political life.
The Welsh language has been the focus of substantial revival efforts. The Welsh-medium education sector has grown substantially since the 1960s. The broadcasting corporation S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru), established in 1982, an important element in the language revival, and the Welsh-medium radio and television productions have given the language a substantial public presence. The number of Welsh speakers in Wales has been increasing since the early 1990s, and the 2021 census showed that about 29% of the population of Wales had some Welsh language ability.
Brittany
The Celtic identity of modern Brittany is expressed through the Breton language, the distinctive music and dance traditions, and the political movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The Celtic identity of Brittany, although not as politically prominent as that of the British Celtic nations, is a powerful element in the cultural life of the region, and the Breton language has been the focus of substantial language revival efforts.
The Breton language, which is a Brythonic Celtic language closely related to Welsh and Cornish, has been in decline since the nineteenth century. The number of Breton speakers has been falling, and the proportion of the population that speaks Breton as a first language is small. The language, however, has been the focus of substantial revival efforts, and the Diwan schools, the bilingual Breton-French schools founded in 1977, have been an important element in the language revival. The cultural festivals, the broadcasting service France 3 Bretagne, and the political movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have all contributed to the maintenance of the Breton cultural identity.
The political expression of Breton identity has been substantial. The Breton Regionalist movement, founded in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a significant force in the maintenance of Breton cultural identity. The present-day regionalist and independence movements continue to advocate for greater autonomy for Brittany within the French Republic.
Cornwall
The Cornish language, which had been extinct since the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, has been revived today, and the Cornish cultural identity has been expressed through the Gorsedh Kernow, the Cornish Language Board, and a substantial body of new literature in the revived language. The revival of the Cornish language has been the work of a small but determined group of scholars and enthusiasts, and the language has been recognized by the UK government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The Gorsedh Kernow, the Cornish Gorsedd, was founded in 1928 by the Welsh Gorsedd, and it has been the central institution of the modern Cornish cultural revival. The ceremony of the Gorsedh, with its invocation of the Celtic gods and its bardic chair, is a familiar element of the Cornish cultural landscape, and the Gorsedh a significant element in the maintenance of the Cornish cultural identity. The Cornish Language Board (Agan Tavas), founded in 1968, has been the central body for the promotion of the Cornish language, and the Cornish-medium education sector has been growing in recent years.
The political expression of Cornish identity has been less substantial than that of the other Celtic nations. The Cornish Constitutional Convention, founded in 2000, has advocated for greater autonomy for Cornwall within the United Kingdom, and the campaign for a Cornish Assembly, modeled on the Welsh Senedd and the Scottish Parliament, a significant element of the modern Cornish political movement. The cultural festivals, including the Golowan Festival and the Lowender Peran, are central elements of the modern Cornish cultural life.
The Isle of Man
The Manx language, which was thought to have died with the death of Ned Maddrell in 1974, has been revived today. The Manx cultural identity is expressed through the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh (the Manx-medium primary school), the Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of Man), the Manx Heritage Foundation, and a substantial body of new literature in the revived language. The revival of the Manx language has been particularly associated with the work of the late Brian Stowell, the Manx-language author and broadcaster, and with the work of the Manx Language Officer.
The Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, claims to be one of the oldest continuous parliaments in the world, with a documented history going back to the late ninth or early tenth century. The Tynwald ceremony, held annually on Tynwald Hill on 5 July, is a major element of Manx national life, and the ceremony of reading the laws of the island in Manx and English is a striking survival of the older tradition. The Manx parliament has substantial powers of self-government, including its own laws, its own courts, and its own taxes, and the Isle of Man is a self-governing Crown Dependency within the British Crown.
The Manx language has been the focus of substantial revival efforts. The Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, the Manx-medium primary school, was founded in 2001, and the school an important element in the language revival. The Manx Language Officer has been working to promote the language in the public life of the island. The number of Manx speakers is still small, but the cultural and political importance of the Manx language has been growing.
Language Policies and the Future of the Celtic Languages
The future of the Celtic languages important issues in the modern Celtic identity. The Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton languages have all been the focus of substantial language policies, including official status, education in the language, broadcasting in the language, and administrative support. The Cornish and Manx languages, although they have been the focus of substantial revival efforts, are still in a fragile state, and the future of these languages is uncertain.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1992, a significant factor in the protection of the Celtic languages. The Charter, which has been ratified by the United Kingdom, France, and Ireland, provides a framework for the protection and promotion of the regional and minority languages of Europe, and the Celtic languages have all been recognized under the Charter.
The broader cultural and political significance of the Celtic languages goes beyond the question of language survival. The Celtic languages are symbols of the distinctiveness of the Celtic nations, and the efforts to maintain and revive them are part of the broader effort to maintain and develop the distinct political and cultural identity of the Celtic nations within the United Kingdom and France. The modern Celtic identity, in its various forms, is in many ways defined by the relationship between the Celtic nations and the larger states of which they are a part, and the language policies of the Celtic nations are a central element of this relationship.
Related Topics
- The Celtic revival of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is examined in detail, with attention to the work of the major scholars, writers, and artists of the period.
- The Celtic influence on modern fantasy and popular culture is examined through literature, film, music, and the visual arts.
- The history of the Celtic civilization provides the chronological and cultural context for the modern legacy.
- The Celtic languages and oral tradition are central to the language revival movements that have been a major part of the modern Celtic identity.
- The Celtic society, law, and governance of the older Celtic world is the foundation on which many of the modern cultural and political institutions of the Celtic nations are based.