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The story of Fergus mac Léti is a fascinating text as it provides both a saga tale as well as an insight into the Old Irish legal tradition. The tale itself has primarily been discussed within the legal context, and understandably so as its extant Early Irish versions exist exclusively within legal material. This paper examines The Saga of Fergus mac Léti within the context of the literary echtra tradition and compares it to the existing corpus of echtra material, discussing key elements that are common across all the texts. This paper argues that the similarities between the text and the other extant echtrai are enough to consider that the extant version may reflect the original version identified in Tale List B and contends that Echtra Fergussa maic Lete has earned its place within the saga material.

The paper compares and contextualizes the comments of Gruffudd Bola (fl. 1270/1280) and Robert Gwyn (c. 1545–c. 1597/1603) on their strategies of translating (quotations from) authoritative religious texts. In the introductory section of his translation of the Athanasian Creed, which he produced for Efa ferch Maredudd, Gruffudd Bola employs the topos of ‘(sometimes) word-for-word’ versus ‘(sometimes) sense-by-sense’ to explain and justify his approach whenever the structural demands of the target language render a literal translation impossible. About three hundred years later, Robert Gwyn, the recusant author of Y Drych Kristnogawl (‘The Christian Mirror’, c. 1583/1584), argues that in the devotional-didactic genre the translations of quotations from authoritative religious texts such as the Bible need to be adapted to his audience’s level of understanding. He thus subordinates fidelity on the literal level to the demands of comprehensibility. Both authors insist on the priority of successful communication, but approach the translator’s dilemma in different frameworks.

In the course of taking down/sound-recording material from the last native Manx speakers between 1883 and 1972 a number of lyrical texts formed part of some of the collections. A number of such texts have already appeared in print, others appear here for the first time. This article seeks to bring all such known texts together under one roof in order to serve the interests of various fields of study concerned with traditional lyric-text material.

The promotion of Cornish as a widely-spoken community language has become more evident, especially after the creation by Cornwall Council of the first language strategy in 2004 and the current strategy for the period 2015–2025. However, since Cornish speakers constitute not much more than 1% of the total population, it is important to take into account not only their position but also the attitudes of non-Cornish speakers in order to achieve some success (Fishman 1991: 174). The literature about the use of Cornish and attitudes towards its promotion is very scarce. SGRÙD Research provided some details about the use of Cornish amongst speakers in 2000, such as the approximate number of speakers, totalling about 300 individuals. PFA Research (2007) described general apathy and rather weak opposition to the promotion of Cornish while the Cornish Language Partnership (2013b) and Croome (2015) presented some positive data amongst employees of Cornwall Council and teachers. The present study, based on the answers of 367 individuals to a questionnaire, provides a more detailed and updated report concerning the views of the inhabitants of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It describes a very different panorama from those outlined previously, with attitudes radically opposed between self-declared Cornish nationals and those not identifying with Cornish nationality. It is expected that the recommendations based on these results may help increase the possibilities of success of the Cornish Language Strategy 2015–2025 in a way that may benefit Cornish and attract people to the language without encouraging opposition from the rest of the population.

The Alexandra Cent Gardes was the name given to an Irish volunteer force of one hundred men who, in February 1864, were said to be prepared for battle on behalf of Denmark in the war against Austria and Prussia. The scheme was the brainchild of the eccentric Goodwin Richard Purcell O’Leary (1817–1876), a medical professor at Queen’s College Cork, mainstay of the Cork social scene, grandson of the storied (and lamented) Art O’Leary, and self-proclaimed head of the O’Leary Clan. Reports of the Cent Gardes prompted a mixture of bewilderment, anger and ridicule in Ireland, and despite his precarious military position, Danish King Christian IX ‘politely declined’ the offer of Irish aid. This article outlines the history of the Cent Gardes idea, analyses O’Leary’s varied motivations for raising an armed force for Denmark, and examines the reasons behind the ‘flashy and bizarre’ project’s failure. A minor footnote in the history of the Second Schleswig War, the story of the Alexandra Cent Gardes nevertheless permits an examination of the delicate nature of international diplomacy, and of the complexities of Irish identities, in the nineteenth century.

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In February 1864, Danish newspapers reported the formation in Cork of an Irish volunteer brigade—the Alexandra Cent Gardes—which was being prepared for action in the Schleswig War. This article examines the background and motivations of the project’s leader—Goodwin Purcell O’Leary—as well as the reactions to the plan.

The text-type in question here is the folk-tale, illustrated by a recent recording of the Co. Donegal folk-tale Banríon an Uaigneas ‘The Queen of Loneliness’. As with any clause, copular clauses are perhaps best analysed within their immediate environment as well as from the standpoint of narrative texture. We will suggest that this approach provides an important aid to understanding (a) the meaning of these clauses, and (b) their role in creating a flow of discourse in a text.