Claare Ny Gael - Manx Radio

We're on the way southwards down the east coast with William Gell in his 1906 poem, Mannin Veg Veen : A Poetical Sketch of the Isle of Man. As he tells us, we'll be coming back to some of the places barely mentioned in this quick coastal tour which has made up Cantos I and II of his poem, with seven more to come. We arrive back in Douglas Bay now. In a translation into Manx of the stories of the B...

The 1906 poem, Mannin Veg Veen : A Poetical Sketch of the Isle of Man has brought us to the Point of Ayre, where William Gell admires the lighthouse, as he has elsewhere as he's conducted us round the coast. We set off down the east coast now and admire the work of Edward Corteen in building the main road from Glen Mona through to Minorca Hill, and particularly round Bulgham. The Brothers Grimm we...

Following the 1906 poem of William Gell, Mannin Veg Veen , he's brought us to St Patrick's Isle, and he mentions the figure of Fenella from Sir Walter Scott's 1823 novel, Peveril of the Peak . We look at part of Sir Walter's description of Fenella from Chapter Sixteenth, as it appears in his book, before resuming a rapid journey up the west coast to the Point of Ayre. As it is pantomime season, we...

William Gell's 1906 poem, Mannin Veg Veen , has brought us to Port Erin, and here we pause to look at the work of a frequent visitor to the Island, and particularly to Port Erin, the writer Arnold Bennett. We then compare what he has to say about the view from Bradda with what William Gell writes, but Gell bustles us up the coast to St Patrick's Isle. We conclude the Manx translation of the story...

From the Calf, William Gell's attention switches to the Chickens in his 1906 poetic tour of the Island, Mannin Veg Veen . Going round to Port Erin, we look at William Milner's association with it, including the tower on Bradda Head. Though Gell doesn't mention him, we also look at Arnold Bennett, who set a chapter of his 1902 novel, Anna of the Five Towns , in Port Erin, and that was by no means t...

William Gell has brought us from Douglas Head to Derbyhaven and Castletown in his 1906 publication, Mannin Veg Veen , a poem in which he paid tribute to the Three Legs with his three-legged rhyming scheme. He's no sooner given a nod to Castle Rushen than he takes us back out to Langness. Although they're called Fairy Tales, the stories collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are sometimes odd, someti...

In 1906 William Gell of Onchan had his third book published containing his lengthy poem, Mannin Veg Veen , which made a poetical tour of the Island. In honour of the Three Legs, William Gell decided to write his poem in rhyming triplets. However, before embarking on the tour, we look at a full-page photograph, the title page and William Gell's dedication and Preface. We come to the final episode i...

One of the sensations of its day was a trial in Douglas of George Barker James Cooper, the scion of a Manchester business family, whose relationship with Edith Annie Cooper, his wife, was volatile, going from apparent harmony to drunken violence in an instant. In one such episode, Edith was killed in their room at the Regent Hotel in Douglas. The Cooper Trial took place from 14th to 22nd November...

Politics during the years following the death of Godred Crovan in 1097 were only too literally cut-throat, as various rivals fought savagely for the throne of the Kingdom of Man and the Isles. We follow the Chronicles of the Kings of Man and the Isles for 90 years from the death of Godred Crovan to the death of Godred Olafson on 10th November 1187. Our Manx translation of Bram Stoker's Dracula has...

We hear from yn Greinneyder, Culture Vannin's Manx Language Development Officer, Ruth Keggin Gell, about the events which go to make up the Cooish Manx Language Festival, being held from Wednesday 6th to Sunday 10th November. Professor Van Helsing has left Mina Harker protected in a Holy circle whilst he goes alone to undertake the task of destroying the Vampire women who recently materialised bef...

We find out something about a newspaper called the Manx Liberal, which was published from 1836 to 1851. We turn to an edition of October 1843 and hear of a tragedy in Union Mills. In our Manx translation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Professor Van Helsing has protected Mina Harker within a circle sprinkled with pieces of communion wafer to keep away evil presences. They're not long in coming to them -...

We finish the short story by P M C Kermode about John the Priest of Corna dale, set against events of the year 1210. It was intended as one of a series of unconnected short stories, perhaps more as a vehicle to give lots of historic colour. However, he was persuaded to continue to follow the life of his main character in subsequent episodes. Professor Van Helsing is preparing a memorandum to Dr Jo...

P M C Kermode sets his story about John the Priest of Corna dale against the historic events of 1210, which saw war galleys sent to the Island by King John of England, when unfortunately the strong Manx king Reginald (Ragnvaldr) was absent with his forces in the western isles of Scotland. In our Manx translation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, we first join Mina Harker and Professor Van Helsing on the r...

We've followed Juan the Priest of Corna Dale into Thorkell's cabin on the slopes of Barrule, where he finds Thorkell's wife with her children and a sickly baby. The mother thinks it won't survive for long, but Juan has other ideas. A story written by P M C Kermode, with lots of historic detail. In our Manx translation of Dracula by Bram Stoker, we hear from Jonathan Harker how his and Lord Godalmi...

In the first edition of Sophia Morrison's magazine, 'Mannin', in May 1913, P M C Kermode contributed what was intended to be the first of a series of short stories to give an impression of day to day life in the Island's history. However, it became the story about John the Priest and starts 'In Corna Dale'. In our Manx translation of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', Professor Van Helsing explains why he i...

Christopher Shimmin's story, The Smuggler , continues with Juan Robin, skipper of the Mauthe Dhoo, arranging to go and bring in a consignment of smuggled rum, despite the presence of a revenue sloop, Hawk, under the command of his old Royal Navy shipmate, Bill Bartlett. Whilst the others rest, Mina Harker has gone through all the accounts of Count Dracula, what he's said and what he's done. By the...

In the early 20th century, Christopher Shimmin wrote plays for Peel Players. When Sophia Morrison launched the magazine Mannin for Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh in 1913 his story The Smuggler appeared in the first edition. We hear the first part of that story in this edition of Claare ny Gael. Having reached the port of Galatz, the friends hear how the box in which Count Dracula is shipping himself back...

We come to the end of the section of 'The Fairy-Faith in the Celtic Countries' in which American scholar W Y Evans Wentz recounts some of the stories he heard on his visit to the Island in 1909. He also collected in the other Celtic countries, and the result was an Oxford PhD thesis which he subsequently published in 1911. In our Manx translation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, the friends have come to...

On Christmas Day of 1909, American scholar W Y Evans Wentz has been out to Glen Maye to collect stories, and has now walked back into Peel to the house of William Cashen, who tells him more for what became Evans Wentz's 1911 publication, 'The Fairy-Faith in the Celtic Countries'. After hearing from Mina Harker under hypnosis that Count Dracula is emerging from his box of Transylvanian soil, the fr...

It's Christmas Day 1909, but American scholar, W Y Evans Wentz, is still out visiting people in Glen Maye and Peel to hear stories which he retold in 'The Fairy-Faith in the Celtic Countries', which he published in 1911. In our Manx translation of Dracula by Bram Stoker, Mina Harker has understood something of the character of Count Dracula, from some of the things the Count had told her husband,...

We rejoin W Y Evans Wentz in Ballasalla where he hears more stories about what he calls 'fairies', though Sophia Morrison points out that the Manx people had lots of names for them, but that 'fairies' was not used. Evans Wentz visited the Island in 1909 to take evidence for his book, 'The Fairy-Faith in the Celtic Countries', which was published in 1911. In our Manx translation of Dracula by Bram...

American scholar W Y Evans Wentz visited the Island in 1909 when Sophia Morrison took him to meet people from whom he took evidence for his PhD thesis which he published in 1911 as 'The Fairy-Faith in the Celtic Countries'. We join him on his collecting trip. Our party of friends have been intent on boarding a ship as soon as it arrives in Varna on the Black Sea so that they can arrange to destroy...

We come to the end of Sophia Morrison's Introduction to the section of W Y Evans Wentz's 1911 publication, 'The Fairy-Faith in the Celtic Countries', dealing specifically with the Isle of Man, and we hear what he wrote down of whom he met and what they told him when he visited the Island in 1909. Our band of friends are talking about what will need to be done when the boat carrying the box of eart...

American scholar, W Y Evans Wentz, published 'The Fairy-Faith in the Celtic Countries' in 1911. Information from the Island was supplied by Sophia Morrison, and we find out what she sent to him, writing in September 1910. Mina Harker explains why she wants her husband, Jonathan, to be willing to swear to end her life and to go on to take the gruesome steps necessary to protect her immortal soul, s...

We find out what happened in the harvest service at Ronague when Isaiah Cregeen was struggling in the pulpit to answer a question put by his brother, Martin - better known as Fairy. This is the penultimate of Dorothy Manley's short stories under the title, Fairy's Ground , and we also move on to the opening of the final story. In our episode from Bram Stoker's Dracula in a translation into Manx, P...