The Pan Celtic Festival ( ga, Féile Pan Cheilteach) is a Celtic-language music festival held annually in the week following

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

, since its inauguration in 1971. The first Pan Celtic Festival took place in

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. Its aim is to promote the modern

Celtic languages The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...

and cultures and artists from six

Celtic nations The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Each participating nation holds its own national selection event to choose its representatives at the Festival. The most successful nation is Wales with fourteen wins, with Ireland in second having won eleven times. Bénjad, who represented Cornwall in 2012 and 2013, became the first artist in the festival's history to have won twice. The Isle of Man is the least successful nation, having only won once in 2014.

Origins and history

Formed in

, the Pan Celtic Festival was organised as a music festival to be held every Spring, to promote the modern cultures and

through the medium of music. It was originally entitled ''Gŵyl Gerdd Bach'' (Welsh for "Small Music Festival"), by Con O'Connaill, but later changed to its current name. In May 1971, the first festival took place in Killarney; and featured performers from Wales (Phyllis and

Meredydd Evans Meredydd Evans (9 December 1919 – 21 February 2015), known colloquially as Merêd, was a collector, editor, historian and performer of folk music of Wales. A major figure in Welsh media for over half a century, Evans has been described as influe ...

), Ireland ( Scoil na Toirbhirte), and Brittany ( Les Tregerez Group and

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a French, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specifically ...

). Meredydd Evans engaged in discussions with the event organiser, Ó Connaill, following the 1971 Festival, and invited him to the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

. At the Eisteddfod, Ó Connaill met members from other

, and formed a committee for the Pan Celtic Festival. Participants from the six Celtic nations of

(''Breizh''),

(''Kernow''),

(''Cymru''),

(''Alba''),

(''Éire'') and the

(''Mannin'') took part in the second Pan Celtic Festival, again held in Killarney in 1972. It was during this festival that the core structure of the event was finalised following a meeting with committee members. These principles of the event are to promote the languages, musical talents and cultures within the six territories recognised as

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

nations.

Participation

Eligibility to compete at the Pan Celtic Festival is for Celtic nations, which are territories in Northern and Western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

where

or cultural traits have survived, and are members of the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

. The term "

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by th ...

" is used in its original sense to mean a community of people who share a common identity and culture and are identified with a traditional territory. It is not synonymous with "

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined ter ...

". ;Eligible to participate but have yet to make their debut. * *

National selections

Brittany: Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant

The Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Orient ( en, Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient, or french:

Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual festival takes ...

) is an annual

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

ic festival, located in the city of

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The event also acts as a national selection process to determine the Breton representative for the annual Pan Celtic Festival. It was founded in 1971 by Polig Montjarret. This annual festival takes place every August and is dedicated to the cultural traditions of the

(pays celtes in Brittany), highlighting

celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

and also including other arts such as

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

, traditional

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

as well as

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

and

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gastr ...

Cornwall: Kan Rag Kernow

Kan Rag Kernow ( en, A Song for Cornwall) is a Cornish annual song contest to find a representative for Cornwall at the Pan Celtic Festival, held annually in Ireland. The Cornish group, The Changing Room, won the 2015 Kan Rag Kernow on 30 January 2015. The group went on to represent Cornwall at the 2015 Pan Celtic Festival, finishing in first place with the song "Hal an Tow" (Flora Day).

Ireland: Comórtas Amhrán Náisiúnta

The Comórtas Amhrán Náisiúnta ( en, National Song Contest) is the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

selection process to determine the representatives for Ireland at the annual Pan Celtic Festival. In 2015, the selection show was held at the Seven Oaks Hotel, in

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic boundar ...

, on 7 March.

Isle of Man: Arrane son Mannin

The Arrane son Mannin ( en, Song for the Isle of Man) is the Manx competition through which a song is selected for the Pan Celtic Festival. In 2015, Shenn Scoill, a quartet whose name means "Old School", were chosen to represent the island.

Scotland: Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail

Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail ( en, The Royal National Mòd) is the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

selection process, organised by

An Comunn Gàidhealach An Comunn Gàidhealach (; literally "The Gaelic Association"), commonly known as An Comunn, is a Scottish organisation that supports and promotes the Scottish Gaelic language and Scottish Gaelic culture and history at local, national and intern ...

, to find the Scottish representative for the Pan Celtic Festival, held annually in Ireland. The Scottish band, Na h-Òganaich, were the first representatives for Scotland at the 1971 Pan Celtic Festival. They represented Scotland again in 1972, with the song "Mi le m’Uillin", finishing in first place.

Wales: Cân i Gymru

Cân i Gymru ( en, A Song for Wales, ) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

television show broadcast on

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

annually. It was first introduced in 1969 when

BBC Cymru BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

wanted to enter the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. It has taken place every year since, except in 1973. ''Cân i Gymru'' is different from most talent shows; whereas the majority invite the public to participate, ''Cân i Gymru'' welcomes only professional artists. The winner of the contest represents Wales at the annual Pan Celtic Festival held in Ireland and is also awarded a cash prize. Wales made their debut participation in the

Eurovision Choir of the Year 2017 Eurovision Choir of the Year 2017 was the first Eurovision Choir competition for choral singers, which was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Interkultur. It was held on 22 July 2017, at the Arena Riga, in the Latvian capital ...

, which marked the second time in any of the Eurovision Family of Events that the country was not represented as part of the unified state of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, after 1994, when Wales participated lastly in the

Jeux Sans Frontières ''Jeux sans frontières'' (; "Games Without Borders" in French) is a Europe-wide television game show, based on the French programme '' Intervilles'' which was first broadcast in 1962. In was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of th ...

. Wales used the talent show '' Côr Cymru'', to select their representatives.

Festival hosts

The festivals, since 1971, have been held in various towns and cities in Ireland. Below is a list of the host cities and their respective years of hosting. The 2001 festival was cancelled due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak. As is shown below,

have hosted the festival twenty-nine times since 1971, with the most recent the 2011 Festival, in the town of

Dingle Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...

, who first hosted the event in 2010.

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

have only hosted once in 1997.

List of winners

By festival

The table below lists all of the annual Pan Celtic Festival winners since its inaugural event in 1971.

By Celtic nation

The table below lists all of the Pan Celtic Festival winners by Celtic Nations, since its inaugural event in 1971. Wales is the most successful nation to date, with fifteen wins; with Ireland coming in second with eleven wins. The Isle of Man achieved their one and only win to date in 2014.

References

External links

Official site
{{Celtic nations Celtic festivals Inter-Celtic organisations Music festivals in Ireland Folk festivals in Ireland Celtic music festivals