ISSUE 22 VOLUME 4
Proudly Serving Celts in North America Since 1991
MAY 2013
A FAMILY TORN APART: Jane Richard (bottom left), pictured in an undated photo with her family. Jane is a little Irish dancer who was critically injured in the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15. She lost her leg and remains hospitalized. Her brother Martin (8) was killed in the terror attacks and her mother, Denise (43), suffered serious brain injuries. Her eldest brother Henry (12), and father Bill (42) managed to escape uninjured. Since the attack, the international Irish dance community has rallied to support the family with fundraising events and campaigns to help with medical costs. [Read more on page 6.]
RACHEL FLYNN (R), was selected as the new 2013 Western Canada Rose at a gala held at the Edmonton Irish Sports and Social Society on April 20. She is shown above with Jayna
Prusko (L), the 2012 Rose.
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[Read more on page 16.]
THE TIDDLEY COVE morris dancers entertained the Royal Society of St. George with a spirited performance at their St. George's Day luncheon held at the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club on April 21. [Read more on page 28.]
Cover Artwork: Hamish Burgess
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Bel: The Bright and Shining One
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Win a VIP admit two pass to 'The Greatest Show on British Wheels 2013' at VanDusen Botanical Gardens in Vancouver on Saturday, May 18. Featuring more than 600 British classics in a beautiful garden setting. [More information on pages 7 and 27 inside.] Entry by May 15. Mark your entry British Wheels. Entries by e-mail only. Mark the name of the event on your entry, including your name and daytime telephone number. (Only one entry per person.) Send to: cbutler@telus.net
By HAMISH BURGESS
The great wheel of the year turns again on the evening of April 30, with the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane, Beltaine, or Bealtaine in Irish, dedicated to the Sun God Bel, 'the bright and shining one'.
Also known as Belenos, Belinus, Beal, Bile, Belyn, and Beli, he was prayed to at times of sickness, for the healing power of the sun.
In various Celtic cultures the god of fertility, healing, music, hunting and even
death, he was associated with therapy, prophecy and healing springs.
Over 30 inscriptions naming Belenos have been found by archaeologists, more than almost any other Celtic deity.
Shrines have been found to him all over Europe, from the British Isles and Ireland in the west, to the ancient kingdom of Noricum, a federation of 12 tribes in the Eastern Alps, in what is now Austria.
The Serpent ring, animal and sun symbols depicted on his helmet are from the Hallstatt area of Austria.
[Continued on page 2]