Cape Breton Island - The Celtic Heart of North America

Take a tour of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada ~ the Celtic Heart of North America, with the island's very own Gaelic songstress, Mary Jane Lamond. The video features the Celtic Colours International Festival, Celtic Music Interpretive Centre, Colaisde Na Gàidhlig (Gaelic College), Highland Village / An Clachan Gàidhealach, Glenora Inn & Distillery, Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design and more.

Music by Mary Jane Lamond and Wendy MacIsaac. New album "Seinn" is available now!
Courtesy of turtlemusik.

[haikekingma]

I am new to Nova Scotia and am an accordionist with a long background in playing Scottish music for dances along with many other styles looking for musicians to jam with. Please let me know where to reach you and thankyou. Haike Kingma/Hubbards N.S.

[avalon]

We enjoy the celtic connections festival here in Glasgow every February. Do any of the young musicians from Cape Breton ever take part? I would love to hear them play. It is always kicked off with the transatlantic sessions which is always an amazing night. Just wondered if we could look forward to seeing them there or at any of the venues throughout the month.

[noahroangoldwing]

Im trying to save up to visit Cape Breton by summer of 2024.

I’m of Irish and Scottish ancestry, so to hear that my ancestral culture thrives up there only makes me want to visit more

[CBCelticHeart]

While debate is healthy (as long as it is respectful), John Taylor and Valvallaria, you are taking things very seriously. I invite you both to come to Cape Breton Island, have a drink of our amazing whisky, go to a local ceilidh or square dance, chat with the locals and simply enjoy yourselves. Whether you think we're Celtic, Gaelic or otherwise, we're fiercely proud Cape Bretoners, we have a vibrant, living culture, and most importantly, we know how to have a good time : )

[CheaperJeeperTV]

I’m hoping to visit Cape Breton this August. Where can I find information on locations for great local music on Cape Breton in early August? Thanks.

[brendacharrier]

The English stole their land and kicked my ancestors across the sea--to Cape Breton. And I am exceedingly grateful! (My devout Presbyterian ancestors undoubtedly considered this verse in Genesis - in Gaelic, of course -"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." (Gen. 50:20)) :)  Cape Breton is gloriously beautiful!

[johntaylor]

quote taken from an article by the british museum

[dalepoulette]

Wrong all wrong the Mi'kmaq are the first people in Cape breton island, we have a word for in it in mikmaq "unamaki" land of the fog, your history is part of Residential School in Shubie you should just be honest from now on.

[antonioprim]

Please, I wonder about if your ascendants came from France, or if they where gaelics from some land nearby Belgium, Netherlands, or Germany, ...or if them came from first places where settlers created cities in todays' North America. No clear about french gaelics or english galeics anyway Joseph came to Egypth.

[johntaylor]

Sykes and Oppenheimer argued for significant immigration from the Iberian peninsula into Britain and Ireland. Much of this argument was based upon Y DNA evidence, however by 2010 several major Y DNA studies presented more complete data, showing that the oldest-surviving male lineages had mostly migrated to Britain from the Balkans, and ultimately from the Middle East, not from Iberia

[johntaylor]

In fact many archaeologists don't call ancient peoples of Britain 'celts' anymore, just iron age people. The idea of celts is actually a new one--only from the 17c.
In northern Spain, where the main source of geneflow into Britain was from, people aren't that dark. They never have been. But anyway, in most of the 'celtic' areas on Britain, brown/dark brown hair is the most common. it's over 40% in Ireland and even the Romans said that the Welsh, probably the darkest of the British isles,

[pspboy]

It seems that I can't go on any vid and not see people arguing. I hope that God takes us away soon, or we are doomed. In the meantime, grow up people.

[TheLouise]

As a scot this kind of creeps me out abit. My culture is history to them were as to me its just normal.

[Valvallaria]

It's like arguing about apples, really. Only difference is that the difference between us are propably a lot less visible than those between the sorts of apples. As I said. The real driving force is culture and what people want or know, not some fancy geneticblah, which WILL be used by people to discriminate against eachother. (and don't tell me they won't - I have experienced that myself.)

[murraymaccuish]

everyone looks like family 3 genarations gone from loch lomand nova scotia

[johntaylor]

The earliest peoples of Britain seemed to have come from Iberia mainly but this was long before the celtic period. The neolithic farmers possibly spoke a form of proto-celtic; almost certainly celtic languages in some form were in Britain by the bronze age.

[johntaylor]

The people of Iron Age Britain were physically very similar to many modern Europeans and there is no reason to suppose that all Iron Age Britons had the same hair colour, eye colour or skin complexion. Iron Age Britons spoke one or more Celtic language, which probably spread to Britain through trade and contacts between people rather than by the invasion of large numbers of Celtic peoples into Britain. Currently, there is no evidence for such an invasion at any time in the Iron Age ...

[Valvallaria]

Yeah, because everything always stayed the same in history, didn't it?

[xLouLuu]

o.o holy f people, how do you have so much time on your hands to fight like this? What a waste of energy.. Anyways, love Cape Breton music and am proud of my heritage even consider my self lucky to have been able to grow up there. Call it Celtic or not at least try to enjoy such good music! :)

[johntaylor]

Archaeologists widely agree on two things about the British Iron Age: its many regional cultures grew out of the preceding local Bronze Age, and did not derive from waves of continental 'Celtic' invaders. And secondly, calling the British Iron Age 'Celtic' is so misleading that it is best abandoned.