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Taglish

Taglish or Englog is code-switching and/or code-mixing in the use of Tagalog and English, the most common languages of the Philippines. The words Taglish and Englog are portmanteaus of the words Tagalog and English. The earliest use of the word Taglish dates back to 1973, while the less common form Tanglish is recorded from 1999.

Taglish is widely used in the Philippines, but is also used by Filipinos in overseas communities. It also has several variants, including Coño English, Jejemon and Swardspeak.

Description
Taglish is very widespread in the Philippines and has become the de facto lingua franca among the urbanized and/or educated middle class. It is largely considered the "normal acceptable conversation style of speaking and writing" in informal settings. It is so widespread that a non-native speaker can be identified easily because they predominantly speak Tagalog, whereas a native speaker would switch freely with English.

According to the linguist Maria Lourdes S. Bautista, there are two contrasting types of code-switching in the Philippines: deficiency-driven and proficiency-driven. Deficiency-driven code-switching occurs when those who are not competent in one language must thus switch back to the language that is more familiar. That is common among younger children, as in the example below given by Bautista:

Proficiency-driven code-switching, on the other hand, occurs when a person is fully competent in both languages being used and can switch between them easily. That is the main type of code-switching in the islands. This example is given by Bautista, taken from an interview with the television journalist Jessica Soho:

Proficiency-driven code-switching is characterized by frequent switching of the Matrix Language (ML) between Tagalog and English, demonstrating the high proficiency of the speakers in both languages. There are also a wide range of strategies involved, including: the formation of bilingual verbs by the addition of prefixes, suffixes, and infixes (e.g. Nagse-sweat ako = "I was sweating"); switching at the morphological, word, phrasal, or clausal levels; and the use of system morphemes (like enclitics, conjunctions, etc.) within long stretches of ML content; and even the inversion of the verb–subject–object word order of Tagalog into the subject-verb-object order of English.

According to Bautista, the reason for this type of code-switching is what she termed "communicative efficiency" in which a speaker can "convey meaning using the most accurate, expressive, or succinct lexical items available to them." The linguist Rosalina Morales Goulet also enumerated several reasons for this type of code-switching. They are: "for precision, for transition, for comic effect, for atmosphere, to bridge or create social distance, for snob appeal, and for secrecy."

Characteristics
Taglish was originally a manner of speaking in Metro Manila involving the mixing of Tagalog/Filipino and English together. However, this practice has spread to other areas where both English and Tagalog/Filipino are spoken, including in areas where Tagalog is not the native language. It is characteristically a form of Tagalog/Filipino that mixes in English words, where Tagalog/Filipino is the substratum and English is the superstratum. Next to code-switching between sentences, clauses, and phrases in "pure" Tagalog and English, Taglish speech also code-mixes especially with sentences that follow the rules of Tagalog grammar with Tagalog syntax and morphology, but that occasionally employs English nouns and verbs in place of their Tagalog counterparts. Examples:

English verbs and even some nouns can be employed as Tagalog verb roots. This is done by the addition of one or more prefixes or infixes and by the doubling of the first sound of the starting form of the noun or verb, consistent with Tagalog morphology but usually retaining English spelling for the roots.

The English verb drive can be changed to the Tagalog word magda-drive meaning will drive (used in place of the Tagalog word magmamaneho). The English noun Internet can also be changed to the Tagalog word nag-Internet meaning have used the Internet.

Taglish also uses sentences of mixed English or Tagalog words and phrases. The conjunctions used to connect them can come from any of the two. Some examples include:

Because of its informal nature, prescriptivists of English and Tagalog discourage its use.

There are examples of modern books in Taglish: the adventure novel Bullet With A Name (2018) by Kirsten Nimwey, the love novel Aeternum Dream (2018) by Harkin Deximire, and more.

Swardspeak
Swardspeak is a kind of Taglish/Englog LGBT slang used by the LGBT demographic of the Philippines. It is a form of slang that uses words and terms primarily from Philippine English, Tagalog/Filipino, and/or Cebuano and Hiligaynon, and occasionally as well as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Sanskrit, or other languages. Names of celebrities, fictional characters, and trademarks are also often used.

Coño English
Coño English (Konyo) or Colegiala English is a sociolect of Taglish that originated from the younger generations of affluent families in Manila. The word coño or konyo, itself came from coño. It is a form of Philippine English that mixes Tagalog/Filipino words, where opposite to Taglish, English is the substratum and Tagalog/Filipino is the superstratum.

The most common aspect of Coño English is the building of verbs by using the English word "make" with the root word of a Tagalog verb:

And adding the English conjunctions "like so" before using a Tagalog adjective to finish the sentence. Examples:

Sometimes, Tagalog interjections such as ano, naman, pa, na (or nah), no (or noh), a (or ha), e (or eh), and o (or oh) are placed to add emphasis. 'No/Noh / A/Ah (contractions from Ano) are used for questions and are added only to the end of a sentence. Ano, is also used for questions and is placed in the front or the end. It may also be used as an interjection, no?, (equal to the Spanish ¿no? and the German nicht?) and is pronounced as or, with a pure vowel instead of the English glide, which shows influence from Spanish in Filipino.

"E"/"Eh" (added to answers to questions) and "o"/"oh" (for statements) are used for exclamations and are added to the front only. pa (not yet; not yet done; to continue; still) and na can be placed in the middle or end. naman (particle used to soften requests or put emphasis) is placed anywhere.

English adjectives are often replaced with Tagalog verbs. The language also occasionally uses Spanish words or Spanish loanwords from Filipino/Tagalog, like baño/banyo ("bathroom"), tostado ("toasted") and jamón ("ham").

The perceived feminine sound of Coño English makes male speakers sometimes overuse the pare to make it sound more masculine. Sometimes tsong is used instead of pare or along with it:

title: Taglish


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Battle of the Chateauguay

The Battle of the Chateauguay was an engagement of the War of 1812. On 26 October 1813, a combined British and Canadian force consisting of 1,530 regulars, volunteers, militia and Mohawk warriors from Lower Canada, commanded by Charles de Salaberry, repelled an American force of about 2,600 regulars which was attempting to invade Lower Canada and ultimately attack Montreal.

The Battle of the Chateauguay was one of the two battles (the other being the Battle of Crysler's Farm) which caused the Americans to abandon the Saint Lawrence Campaign, their major strategic effort in the autumn of 1813.

American plan
Late in 1813, United States Secretary of War John Armstrong devised a plan to capture Montreal, which might have led to the conquest of all Upper Canada. Two divisions were involved. One would descend the St. Lawrence River from Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario, while the other would advance north from Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain. The two divisions would unite in front of the city for the final assault. The Americans around Lake Champlain were led by Major General Wade Hampton, who had taken command on 4 July 1813. Hampton had several misgivings about the plan. His own troops, encamped at Burlington, Vermont, were raw and badly trained, and his junior officers themselves lacked training and experience. There were insufficient supplies at his forward base at Plattsburgh as the British had controlled the lake since 3 June. On that day, two American sloops pursued British gunboats into the Richelieu River and were forced to surrender after the wind dropped and they were trapped by gunboats and artillery firing from the river banks. The British took over the sloops and used them in a raid against a number of settlements around Lake Champlain. In particular, they captured or destroyed quantities of supplies in and around Plattsburgh. Although the British crews and troops involved in the raid were subsequently returned to other duties, the American naval commander on the lake, Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, was unable to construct a flotilla of sloops and gunboats to counter the British vessels until August.

Hampton, a wealthy southern plantation owner, despised Major General James Wilkinson who commanded the division from Sackett's Harbor and who had a reputation for corruption and treacherous dealings with Spain. The two men, who were the two senior generals in the United States Army after the effective retirement of Major General Henry Dearborn on 6 July 1813, had been feuding with each other since 1808. Hampton at first refused to accept orders from Wilkinson, until Armstrong (who had himself moved to Sackett's Harbor) arranged that all correspondence regarding the expedition was to pass through the War Department.

Hampton's movements
On 19 September, Hampton moved by water from Burlington to Plattsburgh, escorted by Macdonough's gunboats, and made a reconnaissance in force towards Odelltown on the direct route north from Lake Champlain. He decided that the British forces were too strong in this sector. The garrison of Ile aux Noix, where the British sloops and gunboats were based, numbered about 900 and there were other outposts and light troops in the area. Also, water on this route was short after a summer drought had caused the wells and streams to dry up, though this excuse caused some amusement among Hampton's officers as Hampton was known to be fond of drink. Hampton's force marched west instead to Four Corners, on the Chateauguay River.

As Wilkinson's expedition was not ready, Hampton's force waited at Four Corners until 18 October. Hampton was concerned that the delay was depleting his supplies and giving the British time to muster forces against him. Hearing from Armstrong that Wilkinson's force was "almost" ready to set out, he began advancing down the Chateauguay River. A brigade of 1,400 New York militia refused to cross the frontier into Canada, leaving Hampton with two brigades of regulars numbering about 2,600 in total, 200 mounted troops and 10 field guns. Large numbers of loaded wagons accompanied the force. Hampton's advance was slowed because the bridges across every stream had been destroyed and trees had been felled across the roads (which themselves were little more than tracks).

Canadian counter-moves
The Swiss-born Major-General Louis de Watteville was appointed commander of the Montreal District on 17 September. In response to reports of the American advance, he ordered several units of militia called up. Reinforcements (two battalions of the Royal Marines) were also moving up the St. Lawrence from Quebec. The Governor-General of Canada, Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, ordered Lieutenant Colonel George MacDonnell to move from Kingston on Lake Ontario to the front south of Montreal with his 1st Light Battalion of mixed regular and militia companies. Already though, the commander of the outposts, Lieutenant Colonel Charles de Salaberry, had been organising his defences. In addition to his own corps (the Canadian Voltigeurs) and George MacDonnell's 1st Light Battalion, he had called in several units of the Select Embodied Militia and local militia units. De Salaberry had many informants among the farmers in the area who provided accurate information about the strength of Hampton's force and its movements, while Hampton had very poor intelligence about De Salaberry's force.
 * The road along which Hampton was advancing followed the north bank of the Chateauguay. Facing a ravine where a creek (the English River) joined the Chateauguay, de Salaberry ordered abatis (obstacles made of felled trees) to be constructed, blocking the road. Behind these he posted the light company of the Canadian Fencibles under Captain Richard Ferguson (50); two companies of the Canadian Voltigeurs under Captain Michel-Louis Juchereau Duchesnay and his brother Captain Jean-Baptiste Juchereau Duchesnay, totalling about 100 men; a company from the 2nd Battalion Sedentary Beauharnois Militia under Captain Longuetin (about 100) and perhaps two dozen Native Americans (Abenaki, Algonquin and Iroquois) nominally commanded by Captain Lamothe.
 * To guard a ford across the Chateauguay 1 mi behind the abatis, de Salaberry posted the light companies of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of Select Embodied Militia under Captains de Tonnancoeur and Daly, and another company of Beauharnois militia under Captain Brugière (about 160 in total).
 * In successive reserve positions, stretching a mile and a half along the river from the abatis to the ford and beyond, were another two companies of the Canadian Voltigeurs (about 300); the main body of the 2nd Select Embodied Militia (480), 200 more local "sedentary" militia; and another 150 Kahnawake and Mohawks and other Native Americans commanded by Captains Lorimier and Ducharme, among others.

De Salaberry commanded the front line in person, while the reserves were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel MacDonnell.

All of de Salaberry's forces were raised in Lower Canada. The Canadian Fencibles were raised as regulars, though liable for service in North America only. The Voltigeurs were volunteers and were treated as regulars for most purposes. The Select Embodied Militia contained some volunteers but consisted mainly of men drafted by ballot for a year's full-time service.

De Salaberry had been so confident of victory that he had not informed his superiors of his actions. De Watteville and Sir George Prevost rode forward and "approved" de Salaberry's dispositions, even as the fighting started.

Battle
Hampton knew of the existence of the ford and, late on 25 October, he decided to send 1,500 men of his first brigade (including most, if not all, of his light infantry) under Colonel Robert Purdy, to cross to the south bank of the Chateauguay, circle round the British position and outflank it by capturing the ford at dawn, while the remainder under Brigadier General George Izard attacked from the front. After Purdy set off, Hampton received a letter from Armstrong, dated 16 October, informing him that Armstrong himself was relinquishing overall command of the combined American forces, leaving Wilkinson in charge. Hampton was also ordered to construct winter quarters for 10,000 men on the Saint Lawrence. Hampton interpreted this instruction to mean that there would be no attack on Montreal that year and the entire campaign was pointless. He would probably have retreated immediately, except that Purdy would then have been left isolated.

Purdy's men spent a miserable night marching through swampy woods in pouring rain, becoming quite lost. As dawn broke on 26 October, they located the correct trail, but inexperienced or unwilling guides first led them about mid-morning to a point on the river opposite de Salaberry's forward defences. Some time after noon, Purdy's brigade encountered the detachment de Salaberry had posted to guard the ford. Captain Daly, leading the light company of the 3rd Select Embodied Militia, launched an immediate attack against the Americans, while other Canadian troops engaged them from across the river. The Americans were thrown into confusion and driven back. Captain Daly and Captain Brugière were severely wounded and their men withdrew, but when the Americans tried to pursue they once again came under fire from the north bank of the Chateauguay and were again thrown into disarray.

After Purdy's force had been in action for some time with no obvious signs of American success, Izard's force marched into the ravine facing de Salaberry's defences and deployed into line. Legend has it that at this point, an American officer rode forward to demand the Canadians' surrender. As he had omitted to do so under a flag of truce, he was shot down by de Salaberry himself.

Izard's troops began steady, rolling volleys into the abatis and trees. These conventional tactics, better suited to pitched battles between regular forces in open terrain, were almost entirely ineffective against the Canadians. The defenders replied with accurate individual fire. Lieutenant Pinguet of the Canadian Fencibles later related "All our men fired from thirty-five to forty rounds so well aimed that the prisoners told us next day that every shot seem to pass at about the height of a man's breast or head. Our company was engaged for about three-quarters of an hour before reinforcements came up." Surprisingly few Americans were hit however. On the Canadian right, the light company of the Fencibles were outflanked and fell back, but either on de Salaberry's orders or on their own initiative, MacDonnell and several companies from the reserve were already making their way forward. They did so with bugle calls, cheers and Indian war whoops. De Salaberry is also credited in several accounts with sending buglers into the woods to sound the "Advance" as a ruse de guerre. The unnerved Americans thought themselves outnumbered and about to be outflanked and fell back 3 mi. Hampton's four guns did not come into action.

Purdy first fell back to the river bank opposite De Salaberry's front line, expecting to find Izard still in action, so that he could ferry his wounded across the river. Instead, he once again found himself under fire from De Salaberry and was forced to retreat through the woods to his starting-place. Once Purdy had extricated himself after another dismal night in the woods, the American army withdrew in good order. De Salaberry did not pursue.

Casualties
De Salaberry reported 5 killed, 16 wounded and 4 missing but 3 of the men who had been returned as "killed" later rejoined the ranks unharmed, giving a revised Canadian loss of 2 killed, 16 wounded and 4 missing. The American losses were officially reported by Hampton's Adjutant-General (Colonel Henry Atkinson) as 23 killed, 33 wounded and 29 missing. De Salaberry reported that 16 American prisoners were taken.

Aftermath
Having reunited his forces, Hampton held a council of war. This unanimously concluded that a renewed advance stood no chance of success. Furthermore, the roads were becoming impassable under the autumn rains, and Hampton's supplies would soon be exhausted. Hampton ordered a withdrawal to Four Corners and sent Colonel Atkinson to Wilkinson with a report of his situation. Wilkinson's own force had reached a settlement named Hoags, on the Saint Lawrence River a few miles upstream from Ogdensburg, when they received this news. Wilkinson replied with orders for Hampton to advance to Cornwall, bringing sufficient supplies for both his own and Wilkinson's divisions. When he received these orders, Hampton was convinced that they could not be executed and declined to comply, retreating instead to Plattsburgh. Before Hampton's reply could reach Wilkinson, the latter's own force was defeated at the Battle of Crysler's Farm on 11 November. Wilkinson nevertheless used Hampton's refusal to move on Cornwall (which he received by letter on 12 November) as a pretext to abandon his own advance, and the campaign to capture Montreal was called off.

Hampton had already submitted his resignation the day before the battle of Chateauguay, in his reply to Armstrong's letter of 16 October. He was not employed again in the field.

On the British side, the victorious troops at Chateauguay held their existing positions and endured much discomfort for several days before Indians reported that the Americans were retreating, which allowed them to retire to more comfortable billets. The hot-tempered de Salaberry was furious that Major General de Watteville and especially Sir George Prevost had arrived on the field too late to take part in the fighting but in time to submit their own dispatches claiming the victory for themselves. He considered resigning his commission but was later officially thanked by the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. He and Lieutenant Colonel MacDonnell were made Companions of the Bath after the war for their parts in the battle. Sir George Prevost's dispatch, which claimed that 300 Canadians had put 7,500 Americans to flight nevertheless contributed to the battle becoming legendary in Canadian folklore.

Legacy
Eight currently active regular battalions of the United States Army (1-3 Inf, 2-3 Inf, 4-3 Inf, 1-5 Inf, 2-5 Inf, 1-6 Inf, 2-6 Inf and 4-6 Inf) perpetuate the lineages of several of American infantry regiments (the old 1st, 4th, 25th and 29th Infantry Regiments) that took part in the Battle of the Chateauguay.

Six regiments of the Canadian Army carry the Battle Honour CHATEAUGUAY to commemorate the history and heritage of units that fought at the Battle. They are: The Royal 22e Régiment, the Canadian Grenadier Guards, the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, Les Voltigeurs de Québec, Les Fusiliers du St-Laurent and Le Régiment de la Chaudière.

The site of the battle was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920.

Mohawk warriors who took part in the battle
A list of Warriors receiving medals entitled: "August 25, 1847 A list of soldier and Native Warriors was provided for the Military General Service Medals for the Battle of Detroit, 11 August 1812, the Battle of Chateauguay on 26 October 1813, the Battle of Crysler Farm, 11 November 1813."

All the warriors from Kanesatake and Kahnawake mentioned who received medals at Chateauguay can be found in the 1786-1800 Kanesatake-Oka and Caughnawaga-Kahnawake parish registers or other census that took place during that period. The transcribed registers from the parish registers repertory are available at National Archives of Quebec in Montreal, and through the censuses mentioned.

Those from Caughnawaga-Kahnawake were:
 * Ducharme, Dominique (Captain)
 * Maccomber, Jarvise (Lieutenant)
 * Anaicha, Saro
 * Anontara, Saro
 * Arenhoktha, Saro
 * Arosin-Arosen, Wishe
 * Atenhara, Henias (Oka & Caughnawaga)
 * Honenharakete, Roren
 * Kanewatiron, Henias
 * Karakontie, Arenne
 * Karenhoton, Atonsa
 * Kariwakeron, Sak
 * Katstirakeron, Saro
 * Nikarakwasa, Atonsa
 * Sakahoronkwas, Triom
 * Sakoiatiiostha, Sose
 * Sakoratentha, Sawatis
 * Saskwenharowane, Saro
 * Sawennowane, Atona
 * Skaionwiio, Wishe
 * Taiakonentakete, Wishe
 * Tekanasontie, Martin
 * Tewasarasere, Roiir
 * Tewaserake, Henias
 * Thoientakon, Simon
 * Tiohakwente, Tier (Oka & Caughnawaga)
 * Tiohatekon, Atonsa
 * Tseoherisen, Tier
 * Tsiorakwisin, Rosi

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Battle of the Chateauguay


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Béziers

Béziers ( Besièrs) is a city in southern France. It is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region. Every August Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event.

The town is located on a small bluff above the river Orb, about 10 km from the Mediterranean coast and 75 km southwest of Montpellier. At Béziers, the Canal du Midi passes over the river Orb by means of the Pont-canal de l'Orb, an aqueduct claimed to be the first of its kind.

History
Béziers is one of the oldest cities in France. Research published in March 2013 shows that the ancient Greek colony of Béziers dates from 575 BCE, making it older than Agde (Greek Agathe Tyche, founded in 525 BCE) and slightly younger than Marseille (Greek Massalia, founded in 600 BCE).

The site has been occupied since Neolithic times, before the influx of Celts. Roman Betarra was on the road that linked Provence with Iberia. The Romans refounded the city as a new colonia for veterans in 36–35 BCE and called it Colonia Julia Baeterrae Septimanorum. Stones from the Roman amphitheatre were used to construct the city wall during the third century.

Béziers exported wine to Rome. A dolium discovered in an excavation near Rome is marked, "I am a wine from Baeterrae and I am five years old." Another is simply marked, "white wine of Baeterrae." Béziers was conquered by the Muslims and remained part of Islamic Iberia between 720 and 752.

From the 10th to the 12th centuries, Béziers was the centre of a Viscountship of Béziers. The viscounts ruled most of the coastal plain around Béziers, including the town of Agde. They also controlled the major east–west route through Languedoc, which roughly follows the old Roman Via Domitia, with the two key bridges over the Orb at Béziers and over the Hérault at Saint-Thibéry.

After the death of Viscount William around 990, the viscounty passed to his daughter Garsendis and her husband, Count Raimond-Roger of Carcassonne (d. c. 1012). It was then ruled by their son Peter-Raimond (d. c. 1060) and his son Roger (d. 1067), both of whom were also counts of Carcassonne.

Roger died without issue and Béziers passed to his sister Ermengard and her husband Raimond-Bertrand Trencavel. The Trencavels ruled for the next 142 years, until the Albigensian Crusade, a formal crusade (holy war) authorised by Pope Innocent III.

Massacre at Béziers
Béziers was a Languedoc stronghold of Catharism, which the Catholic Church condemned as heretical and which Catholic forces exterminated in the Albigensian Crusade.

The crusaders reached Béziers on 21 July 1209. Béziers' Catholics were given an ultimatum to hand over the heretics or leave before the crusaders besieged the city and to "avoid sharing their fate and perishing with them". However, many refused and resisted with the Cathars. The town was sacked the following day and in the bloody massacre no one was spared, not even Catholic priests and those who took refuge in the churches.

One of the commanders of the crusade was the Papal legate Arnaud-Amaury (or Arnald Amalaricus, abbot of Citeaux). When asked by a crusader how to tell Catholics from Cathars once they had taken the city, the abbot supposedly replied, "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius" ("Kill them all, for the Lord knoweth them that are His"). (This oft-quoted phrase is sourced from Caesarius of Heisterbach along with a story of all the heretics who desecrated a copy of the Gospels and threw it down from the town's walls. ) Amalric's own version of the siege, described in his letter to Pope Innocent III in August 1209 (col. 139), states: "While discussions were still going on with the barons about the release of those in the city who were deemed to be Catholics, the servants and other persons of low rank and unarmed attacked the city without waiting for orders from their leaders. To our amazement, crying 'to arms, to arms!', within the space of two or three hours they crossed the ditches and the walls and Béziers was taken. Our men spared no one, irrespective of rank, sex or age, and put to the sword almost 20,000 people. After this great slaughter the whole city was despoiled and burnt ..."

The invaders burned the Cathedral of Saint Nazaire, which collapsed on those who had taken refuge inside. The town was pillaged and burnt. By some accounts, none were left alive—by others, there were a handful of survivors. (A plaque opposite the cathedral records the "Day of Butchery" perpetrated by the "northern barons".)

Later Middle Ages
Despite the massacre, the city was repopulated. A few parts of the Romanesque cathedral of St-Nazaire had survived the carnage, and repairs started in 1215. The restoration, along with that of the rest of the city, continued until the 15th century.

Béziers became part of the royal domain in 1247.

A school of troubadours arose at Béziers in the 1260s–80s, with four poets: Bernart d'Auriac, Joan Esteve, Joan Miralhas, and Raimon Gaucelm. The latter three were natives of Béziers. All four lived there and were members of the urban middle class and no courtesans: Miralhas was possibly a potter and Bernart a teacher. They wrote in Occitan but supported the French king Louis IX and the French aristocracy against the native Occitan nobility, and have been described as "gallicised". Raimon Gaucelm supported the Eighth Crusade and even wrote a planh, the only known one of its kind, to a burgher of Béziers. Joan Esteve and Bernart both composed in support of the French in the Aragonese Crusade. These poets are a shining example of the transformation of Occitania in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade, but also of the ability of troubadours to survive it.

Rule of the city was for a long time divided among three powers: the Bishopric, which reached its apogee in the 16th and 17th centuries when it was held by the Bonsi family, allied to the Medici; the consuls, local magistrates created at the end of the 12th century; and finally the king, represented by a "Viguier for judicial affairs", and from the 17th century onwards by a sub-delegate of the Intendant.

Béziers was not damaged in the Hundred Years' War.

On 8 September 1381, a riot broke out at the seat of the municipal council, rioters setting the Town House on fire. The councillors tried to take refuge in the tower, but fire spread there as well, and they all died either by fire or in jumping from the tower to the square.

Early modern times
King Charles IX passed through the city during his royal tour of France (1564–1566), accompanied by the Court and the great men of the kingdom: his brother Henry, the Duke of Anjou, his distant cousin Henri of Navarre, and the Cardinal of Bourbon with the Cardinal of Lorraine.

In 1551, Béziers became the seat of a seneschal, being removed from the jurisdiction of the seneschals of Carcassonne.

The city served as a rear base during various wars of the modern period, especially those against the Habsburgs. It was only once directly threatened. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the British in 1710 landed at Sète and moved to within a few kilometres of Béziers, before being repulsed by the Duke of Roquelaure. Béziers was at the heart of the Montmorency Revolt in 1632. It was in Béziers that Gaston d'Orléans and Henri II de Montmorency, Governor of Languedoc, met at the beginning of the rebellion. It was also here that the king, by the Edict of Béziers (October 1632), abolished the privileges of the province. (They were restored in 1649.)

During the 18th century, Béziers prospered, notably thanks to the cultivation of vines which enabled it to become an important centre for alcohol trading.

French Revolution
During the French Revolution, citizens of Béziers met in a revolutionary society created in May 1790 and numbering up to 400 members. It had several successive names: first, "The Literary and Patriotic Cabinet", a name still derived from the social life of the Ancien Régime; it then became "Society of the Friends of the Constitution and Liberty". Later becoming affiliated to the Jacobin Club of Paris, the Béziers organization was accordingly renamed the "Society of the Jacobins"; then, the abolition of the French monarchy precipitated two further changes of name: "Society of Brothers and Friends of the Republic" and then "Regenerated Society of the Jacobins, Friends of the Republic".

From 1790 to 1800, Béziers was the chief town of the district of Béziers. The city did not take part in the Girondin ("Federalist") movement.

Napoleon the Third, 1851
In the repression following Louis Napoléon's coup d'état in 1851, troops fired on and killed Republican protesters in Béziers. Others were condemned to death or transported to Guiana, including Casimir Péret, the mayor at the time, who died at sea attempting to escape from there. In the Place de la Révolution a plaque and a monument by Jean Antoine Injalbert commemorates these events. (Injalbert also designed the Fontaine du Titan in Béziers' Plâteau des Poètes park.)

The Languedoc vine growers' revolt in Béziers, 1907
While elsewhere in France, the area planted with vines was decreasing, it increased in the Departments of Aude, Gard, Hérault and the Pyrenees-Orientales. Together, these supplied some 40% of French wine production. Haut Languedoc, and more particularly the Biterrois and Béziers, proclaimed themselves to be "The World Capital of Wine" and grew rapidly. Great fortunes were made. Large landowners, coming from industry, finance or the liberal professions, gained possession of immense vineyards.

There was also a growing foreign competition, with smuggled wines appearing on the market. The fraudsters remained unpunished. In 1892, the winegrowers of the Midi demanded "The restoration and enforcement of customs duties". But the market remained partly held by wines made from imported dried grapes (such as grapes from Corinth), and wines called "wet" (adulterated with water). Though the vintners attached great importance to this unfair competition, in fact it did not represent more than 5% of the market.

On 12 May 1907, no less than 150,000 protesters gathered in Béziers with the declared aim of "Defending the Southern Viticulture". The crowd spilled into Paul-Riquet and the Champ-de-Mars. The slogans on the banners Proclaimed: "Victory or death! Enough of talking, the time has come for action! Death to fraudsters! Bread or death! Live by working or die fighting!".

The demonstrators, who came from more than 200 communes, were joined by numerous Biterrois employees and shopkeepers. The event ended with speeches on the Place de la Citadelle, (now Place Jean-Jaurès). the Speakers included Marcelin Albert who issued an ultimatum to the government, demanding that it raise the price of wine, Ernest Ferroul who advocated tax refusal and the Béziers Mayor Émile Suchon, (close to Clemenceau), who took a stand in support of the winegrowers' struggle. There were some minor incidents during the dispersal of the demonstrators.

On 16 May, the Béziers municipal council, of Radical and Socialist tendency, resigned. The pressure of the street continued. The police station and the town hall façade were set on fire. Alerted, Georges Clemenceau decided to launch a counterattack. The 17th regiment of line infantry, composed of reservists and conscripts, was on his orders transferred from Béziers to Agde on 18 June 1907.

On the evening of 20 June, learning of the Narbonne shooting, about 500 soldiers of the 6th company of the 17th regiment mutinied, plundered the armory and headed for Béziers. They traveled about twenty kilometers by night. On 21 June, in the early morning, they arrived in town. They were warmly welcomed by the Biterrois, "fraternizing with the demonstrators, and peacefully opposing the armed forces". The soldiers sat down on the Allées Paul Riquet and the population offered them wine and food.

The South was on the brink of insurrection. In Paulhan, the railway was taken out of commission by protesters who stopped a military convoy sent to quell the mutineers. In Lodève, the sub-prefect was taken hostage. The military authorities were not ready to accept this mutiny, apprehensive that the example of the 17th regiment would give similar ideas to other regiments in the region.

In Paris, the Republic trembled, as Clemenceau had to face a vote of no confidence. However, he survived by letting the military command urgently negotiate with the mutineers. In the afternoon, after obtaining a guarantee that no sanctions will be imposed on them, the 17th soldiers put down their arms and marched to the station under escort, without any major incident. On 22 June, they returned by train to their barracks. Clemenceau announced the end of the mutiny and gained a parliamentary vote of confidence by 327 votes to 223.

On 23 June, a law was finally passed, which repressed the massive chaptalisation of the wines.

Negotiations and the scale of the movement prevented collective punishment: the mutineers of the 17th were assigned to Gafsa (Tunisia), a place where soldiers were often sent for "disciplinary companies", but these soldiers remained outside this framework, and were under ordinary military status. There was therefore no penal sanction for the revolt of the 17th, contrary to the legend that developed on this subject. However, during the First World War, haunted by their reputation as deserters, many of them were sent to the front line, particularly in the bloody assaults of 1914.

The mutiny of soldiers of the 17th has remained in historical memory, especially with the words of Montéhus' anti-militarist song "Gloire au 17", with the refrain: "Salute, salute to you / Brave soldiers of the seventeenth...."

Climate
Béziers has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature in Béziers is 15.1 C. The average annual rainfall is 595.7 mm with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 24.1 C, and lowest in January, at around 7.5 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Béziers was 42.0 C on 7 July 1982; the coldest temperature ever recorded was -16.0 C on 16 January 1985.

Population
The inhabitants of Béziers are known as Biterrois, after Baeterrae, the Roman name for the town.

Attractions
Other sites and monuments
 * Saint-Nazaire Cathedral: Situated in the high part of town, it occupies a picturesque site, visible from afar when approaching Béziers on the road from Narbonne. A remarkable example of middle Gothic architecture from the 14th century, the vaulted nave, 14 m wide, reaches a height of 32 m. The total length is 50 m. The western rose window has a diameter of 10 m.
 * The Plateau des Poètes (1867): This vast English-style (formal) park was laid out by landscape artists, the Bulher brothers. It contains numerous statues of poets and a monumental fountain of the Titan by Injalbert. The park connects the station with the allées Paul Riquet...
 * The allées Paul Riquet, a major square, where a large bronze statue by David d'Angers celebrates the creator of the Canal du Midi, Pierre-Paul Riquet. The same sculptor created the bas reliefs which decorate the neo-Classical façade of the Municipal Theatre (1844) at the top of the allées. At times of the Feria, festivities are centred in the allées.
 * Arenas: Béziers has two arenas, one dating from the Roman era whose structures and foundations have been preserved following major works in the Saint-Jacques district, and the other built in 1905 in the style of Spanish bullrings by Fernand Castelbon de Beauxhostes. The latter is one of the largest such structures in France (seating 13,100). The arena hosts concerts and, every August, a bullfighting festival (the Féria).
 * The Fine Arts Museum (musée des Beaux-Arts), founded in 1859, received in 1934 the legacy of Injalbert's widow and, in 1975, drawings and the art collection of Jean Moulin. Among the museum's works are canvasses by Hans Holbein, Sébastien Bourdon, Géricault, Vincent van Gogh, Chaïm Soutine and Henri Goetz.
 * The musée Saint-Jacques, installed in a former barracks, has collections showing life in the Béziers region (Biterrois).
 * Le Pont Vieux is a stone bridge crossing the Orb (Middle Ages).
 * Le Cimetière Vieux (Old Cemetery), created in the 18th century, is a true open-air museum with numerous tombs and works of art by local sculptors, including Jean Magrou and Injalbert.
 * Pierre-Paul Riquet's Canal du Midi (17th century) Béziers installations: the Pont-canal de l'Orb canal aqueduct; the Fonserannes staircase locks; the hapless Fonserannes "water slope"; and the Fonserannes lock continuation (now also hors service) to the River Orb.
 * The Cordier or Bagnols mill
 * Saint-Jacques Church
 * The Saint-Aphrodise Church
 * Church of the Madeleine
 * Saint Jude Church
 * Church of the Immaculate Conception and its glazed tile roof
 * The Capnau quarter
 * Island of Tabarka, on the Orb
 * The Municipal Theatre (19th century)
 * The Art Nouveau former Théâtre des Variétés
 * The market hall (end of the 19th century)
 * The Saint-Jean-d'Aureilhan estate
 * The Domaine de Bayssan
 * Chapelle du Jardin Notre-Dame (18th century)
 * Chapelle des Pénitents Bleus (18th century)

Other sights in the area include the Oppidum d'Ensérune archaeological site and the Étang de Montady, a marsh drained in 1247 to create a field and irrigation system which is visible from the Oppidum d'Ensérune.

Economy
Béziers is a principal centre of the Languedoc viticulture and wine making industries.

Transport
Road: The A9 autoroute between Italy and Spain skirts Béziers. The final link in the A75 autoroute between Pézenas and the A9 was completed in December 2010 and provides direct links to Clermont-Ferrand and Paris.

Rail: The Gare de Béziers is a railway station with connections to Toulouse, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Marseille, Paris, Barcelona and several regional destinations. TGV trains stop in Béziers, but the tracks between Montpellier and Spain are not yet high-speed tracks.

Air: Béziers Cap d'Agde Airport (previously Béziers-Agde-Vias Airport), owned by the Chamber of commerce and industry, provides connections to destinations in northern Europe. Following an extension to the runway which was completed in March 2007, Ryanair began flights to and from Bristol Airport in March 2008, and later to London Stansted and London Luton Airport. Current (January 2013) destinations from this airport with Ryanair are Bristol, London Luton Airport, Paris Beauvais, Oslo Rygge, Manchester, Edinburgh, Weeze Airport and Stockholm Skavsta, while Flybe serves Southampton.

Canal: Primarily used today by trip boats and plaisanciers, the Canal du Midi is still used commercially to carry Languedoc wine to Bordeaux for blending. The canals locks have a maximum length of 30 m, slightly less than the 38.5 m adopted under the later Freycinet standard. Although parts of the River Orb are navigable, the river is interrupted by a number of impassable weirs.

Sport
Béziers' rugby union team is AS Béziers Hérault, the football team is AS Béziers (2007) which plays in Championnat National 2. The women's volleyball team, the Béziers Angels, won the national LNV Ligue A Féminine in 2018.

Notable people

 * Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi (1270–1340), poet, philosopher and physician
 * Abraham Bedersi, 13th-century Provençal Jewish poet
 * Pierre-Paul Riquet (1609 or 1604–1680), engineer and canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi
 * Paul Pellisson (1624–1693), author
 * Jean Barbeyrac (1674?–1744), jurist
 * Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan (1678–1771), geophysicist
 * Jean-Henri-Nicolas Bouillet (1729–1790), physician and Encyclopédiste, mayor of Béziers from 1787 to 1790
 * Pierre Jean Porro (1750–1831), guitarist, composer and music publisher
 * Joseph-Henri baron de Jessé (1755–1794), nobleman and president of the National Constituent Assembly
 * Jean Gailhac (1802–1890), priest, educator and founder of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary
 * Agénor Azéma de Montgravier (1805–1863), archeologist and Chef d'escadron in the Artillery
 * Jean Antoine Ernest Constans (1833–1913), statesman
 * Jean Antoine Injalbert (1845–1933), sculptor
 * Valentin Duc (1858–1915), operatic tenor
 * Gustave Fayet (1865–1925), artist, art collector, owner of Abbaye de Fontfroide
 * Jean Magrou (1869–1945), sculptor
 * Henri Fescourt (1880–1946), film director
 * Mario Cazes (1890–1972), composer, conductor and violinist
 * Jean Moulin (1899–1943), a hero of the French Resistance in the Second World War
 * Edgar Faure (1908–1988), statesman
 * Gabriel Bacquier (1924-2020), baritone
 * Christian Metz (1931–1993), film theorist
 * Jean-Pierre Escalettes (b. 1935), former president of the French Football Federation (2005–2010)
 * Elisabeth Daynès (b. 1960), sculptor
 * Damien Comolli (b. 1972), football director
 * Julien Rodriguez (b. 1978), Olympique de Marseille footballer
 * Jérémy Clément (b. 1984), Saint-Étienne footballer
 * Aurélie Kamga (b. 1985), athlete
 * Alexandra Rosenfeld (b. 1986), Miss France 2006, Miss Europe 2006
 * Richard Gasquet (b. 1986), French tennis player
 * Thomas Heurtel (b 1989), basketball player
 * Jim Pla (b.1992), racing driver
 * Amale (b. 1993), wrestler

Cultural references

 * The Kate Mosse novels Labyrinth and The Winter Ghosts draw on the history of Carcassonne, Béziers and the Cathars.
 * Alan Tunbridge commemorated the Cathars in his song "Massacre at Béziers".
 * Parts of the town, especially the cathedral, figure prominently in François Truffaut's film Une belle fille comme moi.

Twinned towns
Béziers has been twinned with:
 * 🇩🇪 Heilbronn, Germany, since 1965
 * 🇹🇼 Tainan, Taiwan, since 2023
 * Chiclana de la Frontera, Spain, since 1993
 * 🇷🇺 Stavropol, Russia, since 1982
 * 🇬🇧 Stockport, United Kingdom, since 1972
 * 🇸🇾 Maaloula, Syria, since 2014
 * 🇺🇦 Chortkiv, Ukraine, since 2022
 * 🇮🇱 Nir Oz, Israel, since 2024

title: Béziers


text:
Talk:Romanian language

Alfabet
Alfabet składa się z 31 liter: A Ă Â B C D E F G H I Î J K L M N O P Q R S Ș T Ț U V W X Y Z. W alfabecie występuje 5 dodatkowych liter: Ă Â Î Ș Ț. 83.27.159.95 (talk) 15:31, 22 August 2022 (UTC)

 * Da, ca român pot confirma ca acesta este alfabetul nostru!
 * Cele mai multe persoane vorbitori de engleza din alte tări nu stiu ce sunt acelea diacritice...
 * Translation:
 * Yes, as romanian i can confirm that is our alphabet!
 * Most people of english language from other countries dont know what those diacritics are... Luigi Cotocea (talk) 17:29, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

Māori translation
This page has been translated into Māori and the Māori translation needs to be linked: https://mi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reo_Romeinia Thomas Norren (talk) 06:25, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

 * done Thomas Norren (talk) 22:03, 26 September 2022 (UTC)

Thraco-Dacian
@Borsoka Using Thraco-Dacian as the phrase for Romanian substrate is not POV, there are no reliable sources currently using another term and even previously only a couple used a different name for the substrate language. Can you sustain your decision to change to "native"? Aristeus01 (talk) 20:53, 10 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Thracian, Illyrian, Dacian are also listed among the potential substrate languages. For further details, I refer to authors cited in the article about the History of the Romanian language. The "native dialects" is a neutral term and the subject is to be described in details in the linked article Substrate in Romanian. Borsoka (talk) 01:44, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

Ukraine recognizing Moldovan as Romanian language
Sources:[1 ] [2 ] [3 ] Doremon764 (talk) 18:34, 7 January 2024 (UTC)

Slavic influence on Romanian
@Austronesier could you please provide sources that support the fact that linguists thought that Romanian was a Slavic language? I have tried to delete the sentence as the sources used are misinterpreted intentionally. Or might be just an honest mistake of a user that isn't very knowledgeable in this area. For me this seems just a fringe idea.

Еmil Fischer's 'Die Herkunft Der Rumanen: Eine Historisch-Linguistisch-Etnographische Studie' says that he thought that Romanian doesn't sound Romance or Romance enough even, and his friend thought it sounds like Russian. Nothing clearly pointing to the fact that a linguist actually proposed that Romanian is not a Romance language.

Lucian Boia's 'Romania: Borderland of Europe. Reaktion Books.' can't be even misinterpreted. Boia only mentions a primitive or, even, amateur lexical study done by Alexandru Cihac, which affirms that two fifths of the Romanian vocabulary are of Slavic origin and that's it. The author could mention Alexandru Cihac to support the phrase, if he ever said that.

Lastly, Trask's Historical Linguistics just mentions in passing that scholars thought Romanian to be a Slavic language with no citations or names or anything. This affirmation is only made and no other information is given to further or to support it. As Romanian isn't a focus of the guide and taking into account the mistakes related to Romanian included in the guide (Romanian displaying evidentiality), I think it is safe to exclude this source. Linastic (talk) 15:59, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I agree with you about Boia. It is a very liberal interpretation of a rhetoric hyperbole (which goes like: if Cihac were right, could Romanian then still count as Romance?!).
 * Fischer is not a primary source, but he at least mentions one other scholar who also believed that Romanian is nicht romanisch schlechthin ("not entirely Romance") (NB not  schlechthin nicht romanisch "entirely not Romance"). But again, these statement are not about a (re-/mis-)classification of Romanian as Slavic.
 * Remains Trask. Undoubtedly, Miller & Trask is a reliable source. I don't expect Trask to have made up things, even if the statement in the handbook is without further examples and sources. Sure, it is a rather passing mention and the book isn't primarily about Romanian, but WP:CONTEXTMATTERS: the statement is about past errors in historical linguistics, and historical linguistics (next to Basque) was Trask's field of expertise. Also, I don't it is an exceptional statement (see WP:EXCEPTIONAL); every kind of rubbish has been proposed about virtually every language at some stage in history.
 * For me, it boils to an issue about WP:DUE and WP:ONUS, not WP:V. With only one reliable source that directly supports the statement, we might reconsider if it is really worth mentioning. As of now, I will remove Boia and Fischer (people will have to present good arguments to reintroduce them for any other purposes than POV-pushing), and leave the passage with Trask as its only supporting citation. We should now give room to other editors to decide whether this mention of a past error is due or not. Also, there might be other sources of the calibre of Trask's handbook which both of us aren't aware of at this point.
 * Btw, you don't have to ping me in further replies: this page is on my watchlist. –Austronesier (talk) 10:32, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Starting from WP:CONTEXTMATTERS, given that this is a short chapter in the article, the sentence (and the following one, for that matter) does not meet WP:DUE. Sources like the Oxford Academic series on Romanian language led by Martin Maiden also brief the reader on the history of the language but do not mention this opinion, for example. I would be more comfortable with having the text moved to the main article Slavic influence on Romanian, the Overview section, where I think it would act as an argument for the WP:REL of the entire topic. Aristeus01 (talk) 08:59, 7 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I meant WP:N, the notability of the topic. Aristeus01 (talk) 09:24, 7 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I have come to the same conclusion after going through a number of sources, including ones that cover the history of the Romanian language in much more depth than our encyclopedia article. It's a pretty obscure footnote in the history of bad linguistics; Trask may have had reasons to mention it as an example of the "lexical fallacy", but when scholars of Romanian (and Romance languages in general) overall don't bother to mention it, we shouldn't do it either. –Austronesier (talk) 20:14, 13 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Romanian language


text:
Forfar

Forfar (Farfar, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a population of 16,280.

The town lies in Strathmore and is situated just off the main A90 road between Perth and Aberdeen, with Dundee (the nearest city) being 13 miles (21 km) away. It is approximately 5 miles (8 km) from Glamis Castle, seat of the Bowes-Lyon family and ancestral home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and where the late Princess Margaret, younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, was born in 1930.

Forfar dates back to the temporary Roman occupation of the area, and was subsequently held by the Picts and the Kingdom of Scotland. During the Scottish Wars of Independence, Forfar was occupied by English forces before being recaptured by the Scots and presented to Robert the Bruce. Forfar has been both a traditional market town and a major manufacturing centre for linen and jute. Today the main activities are agriculture and tourism around scenic Strathmore. The local glens are visited by hill-walkers, and there are ski-slopes in the mountains. The town is home to a number of local sporting teams, including the League Two football club, Forfar Athletic.

The Forfar bridie, a Scottish meat pastry snack, is traditionally identified with the town.

Etymology
The exact origin of the name Forfar is uncertain. One suggestion is that the name is Gaelic and means "a cold point", involving, fuar meaning "cold, chilly", and bhar meaning "a point".

History
During one of the Roman invasions of modern-day Scotland, the Romans established a major camp at Battledykes, approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of Forfar; this camp was analysed to have held 50,000 to 60,000 men. From Battledykes northward the Romans established a succession of camps including Stracathro, Raedykes and Normandykes.

During the Middle Ages, a "claimant" to the throne, the daughter of the leader of the Meic Uilleim, who were descendants of King Duncan II, had her brains dashed out on Forfar market cross in 1230 while still an infant.

During the First War of Scottish Independence, the castle of Forfar was held by the English. After Robert the Bruce's victory over the Earl of Buchan, Philip, the Forester of Platane, together with some of his friends raised ladders against the wall and, climbing over, surprised the garrison and slew them. He then yielded the castle to Bruce, who rewarded him and gave instructions for its demolition.

The Meffan Museum is in the heart of the town. It was built by a daughter of the Provost Meffan as a bequest in 1898. It is home of the Forfar story. It is also an art gallery and a meeting place for local speakers, summer clubs for children and groups. The story of Forfar takes you from the history of the little cobbler shops to the burning of the witch Helen Guthrie. There is also a good selection of Pictish stones found in and around Forfar and Kirriemuir. The Large Class I Pictish stone, with a rare carving of a flower, is called the Dunnichen Stone. It was found in the early 19th century when a farmer from the East Mains of Dunnichen was ploughing. It was initially displayed at a church in the vicinity, then at Dunnichen House. In 1966 it was relocated at St Vigeans and finally moved to Dundee museum in 1972. After the Meffan Institute had been renovated it was brought to Forfar on a long-term loan where it is displayed alongside the Kirriemuir Sculptured Stones. There is a canoe, excavated from Forfar Loch, that dates back to the 11th century (one of two that were found).

Like other parts of Angus, Forfar was home to a very successful textile industry during and after the Industrial Revolution. In the late 18th century the firm of William Don & Co. (later William and John Don & Co) was founded in the town. The firm originally bought and sold webs of linen which were woven in local cottages, although it also operated a small weaving shed. In 1865 the firm merged with A J Buist, a Dundee based firm, and began construction of St James Works in Forfar. The partnership also operated mills in Dundee and later built Station Works in Forfar, which contained some 300 looms. Workers housing was built by the firm in Forfar. Don Brothers, Buist & Company Ltd, as the firm was known from 1904, built another works in Forfar, at Strang Street, in 1929. In 1960 it merged with another Dundee firm, Low Brothers & Co (Dundee) Ltd, eventually becoming Don & Low (Holdings) Ltd. By the 1980s the Don & Low group was the United Kingdom's biggest polypropylene textile extrusion and weaving unit. The firm retains premises in Forfar, mainly producing woven and non-woven polypropylene industrial textile products and plastic food packaging. In 1958 Don Brothers, Buist & Co Ltd acquired a controlling interest in another Forfar based-textile firm, Moffat & Son Ltd, who operated Haugh Works in South Street. Another important Forfar textile firm was J & A Craik & Company, Linen and Jute Manufacturers, which was based at the Manor Works. Craiks was started in 1863 when James Craik obtained land in Forfar to build the Manor Works and the company survived until 1981, the year in which it became part of the Low and Bonar group. Craiks owned Forfar Fabrics Ltd, incorporated in 1965, which amalgamated with Low & Bonar Textiles Limited in 1981. The jute manufacturers, John Lowson, Jnr & Co Ltd, also operated in Forfar, operating out of Victoria Works.

In 1911 more than 20% of workers in Forfar were employed in the jute industry. Employment levels in this industry generally dramatically declined in other parts of Angus, including Dundee, during the next four decades. Notably in Dundee, the centre of the British jute industry, more than 40.4% of the working population had worked in the jute industry in 1911, but by 1951 this had fallen to just 18.5%. In Forfar, however this trend was not followed as percentage of the workforce employed in the jute industry had actually risen to 24.4% by 1951.

In the town there is a metal plaque to General Sikorski and the Polish troops commemorating the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to the town on 7 March 1941. The metal plaque is located on a wall on Market Street below Forfar Sheriff Court. It was here on 7 March 1941 that the Royal couple, along with General Sikorski, took the salute in the march past of the Polish troops.

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the town and surrounding area in 2004 (the first time in around 30 years) and again in 2011. HRH Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay, visited the town in April 2012 to take the salute of the Black Watch during the regiment's homecoming parade, marking its return from a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Governance
Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh. The meeting place of the burgh was the Forfar Town and County Hall. It is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1928. The town is represented within Angus Council by the Forfar & District ward, from which four councillors are elected. The members elected from this ward are, as of 2021; Lynne Devine (Scottish National Party), Braden Davy (Scottish Conservative and Unionist), Colin Brown (Independent) and Ian McLaren (Independent).

Road
The town is located just off the main A90 Dundee to Aberdeen road; having once passed through the town centre, the bypass was completed in 1987.

Railway
The nearest stations to Forfar are Dundee, Carnoustie and Arbroath, which are all around 14 mi away. Connections to the rest of Scotland are available on the Edinburgh–Dundee line; the Glasgow–Dundee line, via Perth; and the Dundee to Aberdeen line.

The town was once served by Forfar railway station, which ran goods and passenger lines until 3 September 1967 when it closed for passenger transport as part of the Beeching cuts; a goods line from Perth continued until 1982. The station was located on the main line of the Caledonian Railway from Glasgow Buchanan Street to Aberdeen, which was the furthest north link in the chain of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston. Lines also went to Dundee, Arbroath, Brechin and Kirriemuir. The station has since been demolished and replaced by a small housing estate. However, a major locomotive shed remains and is in use for vehicle body manufacture. Some bridges and cuttings still survive but the site of the goods station, which was the town's original railway station before the one near the County Buildings was built, is now mainly residential properties.

Buses
Local bus services are operated predominantly by Stagecoach Strathtay, Moffat & Williamson and JP Coaches. Key routes connect the town with Dundee, Kirriemuir, Edzell and Arbroath.

Climate
As with most of the British Isles, Forfar has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). The nearest weather station to Forfar is located around 3 miles (5 km) north of Forfar, and is 91 m above sea level.

Football
The town is home to semi-professional football club Forfar Athletic, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in League Two and two SJFA clubs, Forfar West End, and Forfar United, who both currently play in the Midlands Football League. Forfar Athletic's ground, Station Park, plays host to matches featuring Dundee United Reserves.

Youth and Women's Football is available in the town, with Forfar Boys F.C (boys only), Lochside Boys F.C (boys only) and Forfar Farmington F.C (boys, girls and women's) All the clubs have SFA Quality Mark Award at some level.

Rugby league
Forfar has a National League rugby league team, the Strathmore Silverbacks, which shares Inchmacoble Park as its home ground with the local rugby union team.

Rugby union
Rugby Union is represented in the town by Strathmore Rugby Football Club, who play their home games at Inchmacoble Park, beside Forfar Loch. The club has men's and ladies' teams.

Golf
The Forfar Golf Club, founded in 1871, has the 4th oldest 18 hole course in the world and is the very first club to have an 18-hole course from inception and inauguration. The course was designed by Tom Morris Snr, and in 1926 alterations recommended by 5 time Open Championship winner James Braid were implemented. The letter with Braid's recommendations is on display in the Clubhouse.

The Forfar Golf Club has hosted the Scottish PGA Championship twice in its history, once in 1932 and again in 1966.

Cricket
Strathmore Cricket Club, founded in 1862, has played at Lochside Park since 1873.

Others sports and facilities
The town has a swimming pool and a separate dedicated leisure centre. There is also a newly built skatepark near the leisure centre. Forfar has an ice rink which was built in the early 1990s and this is home to the local curling club.

There are three bowling clubs in Forfar, Forfar Bowling Club, Canmore Bowling Club and Forfar Indoor Bowling Club. Both Forfar Bowling Club and Canmore Bowling Club have outdoor bowling greens.

Forfar Loch is home to Forfar Sailing Club.

Angus Gliding Club operates at Roundyhill, between Glamis and Kirriemuir.

Education
Forfar has three primary schools:
 * Whitehills Primary School on Service Road. Whitehills contains a Gaelic Medium Unit where pupils are educated exclusively through the medium of Scottish Gaelic. The head teachers are Coureen Peters & Elaine Gallon (acting).
 * Strathmore Primary School on St James' Road. The head teacher is Jennifer Garnes.
 * Langlands Primary School on Glamis Road. The school reopened in May 2009 after the original buildings were demolished and an extensive period of rebuilding and landscaping. The head teacher is Karen Tough.

There is one secondary school in the town:
 * Forfar Academy on Taylor Street, one of the largest schools in Angus with a roll of around 1,200 pupils.

In 2007, the Forfar-Carnoustie Schools Project made major changes to schools in Forfar, with closure of the following primary schools:

Chapelpark Primary School on Academy Street (the former Forfar Academy) opened in 1967 and was active for 40 years before closing in 2007. The pupils were re-located to Strathmore Primary and Whitehills Primary. The building continued in use as a school, initially by Whitehills Primary until their new school was completed in early 2008. It was then home to Langlands Primary, until the new school on that site was completed in May 2009. Some locals believe it would have made a great library/museum, but in spring of 2016 it was decided that it would be turned into an apartment block, it was completed in the summer of 2018.

Kirkriggs Primary School in St. James' Road was closed in 2007. Pupils were re-located to Langlands until the new school on this site (Strathmore Primary) was completed in early 2008.

Wellbrae Primary School closed in 2007. Pupils were sent to Chapelpark Primary School and later to Whitehills Primary School. The play areas of Wellbrae were all concrete. In 2016, it burned to the ground in an arson attack.

Healthcare
The local community hospital, the Whitehills Health and Community Care Centre, was built on the site of the old Whitehills Hospital building (the former hospital for infectious diseases) and opened in Spring 2005. The new hospital replaced Forfar Infirmary, formerly the town's main hospital, as well as Whitehills Hospital. The Infirmary has since been completely demolished.

The Fyfe-Jamieson maternity hospital closed some time ago; it was across the road from the Forfar Academy, but the site has since been built over with houses.

Places of worship
Forfar has three Church of Scotland congregations:
 * East and Old Church, originally the parish kirk, with a tall slender spire, with steeple clock overlooking the town centre. It is a category B listed building and was refurbished in early 2017.  The church is situated in the town centre and offers a mixture of traditional and contemporary worship.
 * Lowson Memorial Church, off Montrose Road. This is a category A listed church in late Scots Gothic style built in 1914 by A Marshall Mackenzie, who also designed Crathie Kirk. The church contains notable stained glass windows by Douglas Strachan. The church serves the east side of Forfar, and provides a mix of traditional and contemporary styles of worship.
 * St Margaret's Church, in the West High Street, originally a Free Kirk.

It had been decided (by a Church of Scotland arbiter) that the East and Old Parish Church would close, and the congregation would be moving to St. Margaret's Church. This was brought back for discussion at Angus Presbytery due to a large vote against this decision. Now the East and Old and St Margaret's are to remain individual churches as they have always have been.

The East & Old Church is built on the site of the original place of worship that some of the monks of Restenneth Priory built hundreds of years before the one today. The adjoining graveyard has famous 'residents' such as botanist George Don, quite a few scholars and a man who blamed the witches of Forfar for poisoning him after ill words were exchanged between them. The steeple is a focal point of Forfar, visible when entering the town from any direction. Although abutting the East & Old building, it is owned by the 'Town' and is not formally part of the church property; it is all but certain to be retained following any disposal of the church building.

The town has churches of other denominations, including:
 * St John the Evangelist Scottish Episcopal Church, East High Street, designed by Sir R Rowand Anderson and consecrated in 1881. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later to become Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was confirmed in this church.
 * St Fergus Roman Catholic Church.
 * Forfar Community Church at Wellbraehead on part of the old school site.

There is a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's witnesses

Other items of interest
The town is traditionally identified with the Forfar Bridie, a meat pastry snack. A recipe for the Forfar bridie was featured in "Maw Broon's Cookbook".

Another feature of the town is the Forfar Loch Country Park, which is visited by locals as a walking venue. It is said that the Forfar Loch extended over much more of Forfar in the 1800s, going as far up as Orchardbank and Wellbrae. A drainage project brought the water level down. In about the same time period the loch was used to dump raw sewage; thankfully this practice is no longer continued: it is now treated sewage.

The town holds many events throughout the year such as the bi-annual Forfar Mara-Fun, which raises money for charity, and the annual Forfar Food Festival highlighting some of the local food. There is also a monthly farmers' market.

Forfar is home to the Strathmore Mineral Water Co., Ltd., a bottled mineral water producer now run by AG Barr. The company's products are shipped worldwide.

Forfar is known for the "coo o Forfar". A householder left a tub of beer in the doorway to cool, and a passing cow drank it. When the owner of the cow was charged for the beer, a baillie ruled that if the beer was drunk at the doorway it was "deoch an doras" or "stirrup cup", to charge for which would be an insult to Scots hospitality. This became a byword: "Be like the coo o Forfar, an tak a stannin drink".

Public services
Forfar and the surrounding area is supplied with water by Scottish Water from Lintrathen and Backwater reservoirs in Glen Isla. Electricity distribution is by Scottish Hydro Electric plc, part of the Scottish and Southern Energy group.

Waste management is handled by Angus Council. From June 2014, there has been a comprehensive recycling service in place, succeeding the more limited kerbside recycling scheme introduced in 2005. Recyclable waste (encompassing paper, card, cans, plastics and glass) is now collected fortnightly, on alternate weeks with non-recyclable waste, with households having separate bins for each purpose. (Garden and food waste are also collected for separate processing.) Roughly two-thirds of non-recyclable material is sent to landfill at Angus Council's site at Lochhead, Forfar and the remainder sent for incineration (with energy recovery) outside the council area.

A recycling centre is located at Queenswell Road. Items accepted include, steel and aluminium cans, cardboard, paper, electrical equipment, engine oil, fridges and freezers, garden waste, gas bottles, glass, liquid food and drinks cartons, plastic bottles, plastic carrier bags, rubble, scrap metal, shoes and handbags, spectacles, textiles, tin foil, wood and yellow pages. Angus council publishes details of where and how each product is processed. There are also glass banks at the Abbeygate and Tesco car parks. The Angus Council area had a recycling rate of 34.7% in 2007/08.

Healthcare is supplied in the area by NHS Tayside. The nearest hospitals with accident and emergency departments are Arbroath Infirmary and Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. Primary Health Care in Forfar is supplied by several practices, based at Ravenswood Surgery on New Road, Academy Medical Centre in Academy Street and Lour Road Group Practice. Forfar, along with the rest of Scotland is served by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

As from April 2013, law enforcement is provided by Police Scotland and Forfar is served by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Notable people

 * Patrick Abercromby (1656–1716), antiquarian and physician
 * Eilley Bowers, in her time, one of the richest women in the United States, and owner of the Bowers Mansion, one of the then-largest houses in the western United States. She was a Scottish farmer's daughter who emigrated, after converting to the LDS Church as a teenager.
 * Willie Brown (1928–2017), footballer.
 * James Cook, BBC journalist
 * Caroline Doig (1938–2019), paediatric surgeon and the first woman to be elected to the council of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
 * David Don (1799–1841), botanist.
 * George Don (1798–1856), botanist
 * George Duncan (1884–1965), Church of Scotland minister
 * Peter Ritchie Calder (1906–1982), socialist writer, journalist, and academic
 * Prince Edward, Earl of Forfar. HRH visited the town in June 2019 after being granted the title in March of the same year. He was presented with an Earl of Forfar tartan
 * James Simpson Fleming FRSE (1828–1899), banking lawyer
 * Kathryn Findlay, architect
 * David Ireland (colonel), Colonel in the United States Army during American Civil War. Commanded the 137th New York Infantry Regiment during crucial battles such as the Battle of Gettysburg. Born in Forfar
 * Very Rev Dr John Ker minister of Forfar 1745 to 1781, Moderator in 1776
 * George Langlands, footballer (primarily Dundee F.C.)
 * Jack Lorimer, well known comedian and father of Max Wall
 * David McLean (1890–1967), footballer, played for both Celtic and Rangers, ended his career at Forfar Athletic
 * George McLean (1898–1970), footballer, younger brother of David, also finished his career with Forfar Athletic
 * A. S. Neill (1883–1973), educator
 * David W. Potter, sports author
 * Ian Read, CEO of Pfizer
 * Enn Reitel, actor
 * Bon Scott, rock n' roll singer from the band AC/DC.
 * David Taylor (1954–2014), former Joint General Secretary of UEFA and Chief Executive of the Scottish Football Association (SFA).
 * Joseph Wedderburn (1882–1948), mathematician, modern algebra, born in Forfar

Freedom of the Town
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Forfar.

Individuals

 * Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: 1956.

Military Units

 * The Black Watch: 1956.

title: Forfar


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User:Geary

The Wikipedia was my first introduction to WikiWiki. I was immediately enamored with the concept and converted my personal website Geary Central to a wiki using the MoinMoin engine.

I also write a blog at mg.to, and in my spare time, I work on Adobe Acrobat.

title: User:Geary


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Gerald Boland

Gerald Boland (25 May 1885 – 5 January 1973) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice from 1939 to 1948 and 1951 to 1954, Minister for Lands from 1936 to 1939, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1933 to 1936 and Government Chief Whip from 1932 to 1933. He served as a Senator from 1961 to 1969 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Roscommon constituency from 1923 to 1961.

Boland was active during the Irish revolutionary period, fighting in both the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, the latter of which saw the death of his brother Harry Boland. Following the wars, Boland was amongst those who lead Republicans out of Sinn Féin and into Fianna Fáil following a split over abstentionism. When Fianna Fáil came to power in 1932, Boland became a perennial member of the cabinet, most notably as Ireland's longest-serving Minister for Justice. Despite being socially liberal in his own views and a committed Irish republican, as Minister for Justice he was frequently asked by the government to enforce hardline policies against Irish citizens in order to prevent the Irish Republican Army from drawing the Irish state into World War II.

Early life
Born in Manchester, Gerald Boland was the son of James Boland and Kate Boland (née Woods). He was the second child and eldest son among three sons (including Harry Boland) and two daughters of the couple. His family on both sides were staunch Irish Nationalists; his father had been a Fenian in his younger days, a devout follower of Charles Stewart Parnell, and later a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). His father also had ties to the Irish National Invincibles, and his association with them caused him to have to flee to New York City for a time.

After his national school education Boland attended the O'Brien Institute in Fairview, Dublin. He left school at fifteen and became an apprentice fitter at Broadstone Station. Instead of attending to his studies to secure an engineering diploma, Boland took Irish language and history classes at night. In spite of this, he passed his engineering exams.

Revolutionary years
Boland was enrolled in the IRB along with his younger brothers Harry in 1904, following in the footsteps of his father James, uncle Jack. Gerald and his brothers Harry and Ned subsequently joined the Irish Volunteers when that organisation was established in 1913, serving in the same company as Arthur Griffith. When news broke out of the Easter Rising in 1916 Boland immediately left his job in Crooksling, however, he was bitterly disappointed when he found out that the order was countermanded. When the rebellion began in earnest on Easter Monday, he made his way to Jacob's Mill where he fought under Thomas MacDonagh. Following the official surrender, Boland was arrested and interned at Frongoch internment camp in Wales, where he came into contact with other notable revolutionary leaders, including his brother Harry's friend Michael Collins.

Boland was released after a general amnesty in December 1916, however, he remained involved in revolutionary circles, although he declined to rejoin the IRB, believing the organisation was no longer needed. He was arrested and imprisoned in Belfast from May to December 1918 for practising military drills in the Dublin Mountains. Meanwhile, a number of his colleagues secured their release by winning seats in the 1918 general election.

During the War of Independence, Boland was Battalion Commandant of 7 Battalion, Dublin Brigade, IRA and was known as 'Trotsky' for his left-wing views.

He and his brothers were opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. Boland was Battalion Commandant of 3 Battalion, 2 Dublin Brigade (South Dublin) in Blessington, County Wicklow, but was captured early on in Irish Civil War on 7 July 1922 and was interned until release in July 1924. On the outside, his brother Harry died some days after being shot, in August 1922, after two National Army officers attempted to arrest him at the Grand Hotel in Skerries, Dublin. Boland applied to the Irish government for a service pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934 and was awarded 11 and 5/12 years service at Grade C for his service with the Irish Volunteers and the IRA between 1 April 1916 and 30 September 1923.

Beginnings
Following the end of the Civil War, Boland helped to build up Sinn Féin as the main Republican party. While still imprisoned, he was selected to stand for Dáil Éireann as the TD for Roscommon, Harry's old seat, for the 1923 general election, in which he was successful. Boland was amongst those in Kilmainham Gaol who went on hunger strike in October 1923. The hunger strike did not result in his release and Boland credits his practice of Yoga with keeping him alive at that time.

Boland was eventually released from the custody of the state in July 1924. Upon his release, Boland became secretary of Sinn Féin and stood on the executive of the party.

Sinn Féin to Fianna Fáil
Boland was amongst the first in Sinn Féin to call for an end of the party's abstentionism from Dail Eireann, believing it to be a political dead end. Party leader Éamon de Valera proposed that the party abandon this policy and take their seats in the Dáil if changes were made to the oath of allegiance to the British monarch. His proposal was defeated and de Valera and his supporters, including Boland, left Sinn Féin. Shortly after this split, a new party emerged called Fianna Fáil, with de Valera acting as leader and the other disillusioned Republican TDs joining. Boland was vital in transferring many members from Sinn Féin to Fianna Fáil. Fianna Fáil briefly also had an abstentionist policy but in 1927 a new law forced Fianna Fáil TDs to take the oath of allegiance and take their seats in the Dáil. Fianna Fáil dismissed the Oath as "an empty formula".

Boland worked alongside Seán Lemass in building up Fianna Fáil's grassroots support and organisation, with Boland giving particular attention to the party's rural apparatus. In the September 1927 general election Fianna Fáil came within four seats of the ruling Cumann na nGaedheal party. The latter formed a coalition of sorts with the Farmers' Party and returned to government.

In cabinet
Following the 1932 general election, Fianna Fáil formed a new government. Boland was appointed Government Chief Whip, a position which allowed him to attend cabinet meetings but not vote at them.

Fianna Fáil remained in power with an increased mandate following the 1933 general election and Boland was promoted to the position of Minister for Posts and Telegraphs. In spite of being the Minister in charge of the postal service, Boland did not own a telephone until some time later. During his tenure, the postal service made considerable progress. It was also during this time that the Post Office became a paying concern. During his time as minister, Boland oversaw a major expansion of the telephone service in Ireland, improvements in the transmission capacity of Radio Éireann, and construction of new provincial post offices and a new central postal sorting office.

Boland was acting minister of Justice briefly for a time when P. J. Ruttledge was ill. It was during this time that Boland declared the Irish Republican Army a proscribed organisation.

A cabinet reshuffle in 1936 saw Boland become Minister for Lands, before later taking on responsibility for Fisheries. As Minister for Lands Boland introduced a land act in 1939 which reformed land distribution. The act broadened the criteria by which the state could take control over undeveloped land while offering the tenant of the land more favourable terms of compensation. Boland was critical of Lemass' policy of centralising industrial development in Dublin, he instead wished to see a more decentralised economy based around food production. The differing viewpoint caused a rift between Boland and Lemass, but despite this Boland favoured Lemass's policy of state intervention in the economy over Seán MacEntee's more Laissez-faire approach.

In 1937 Boland was highly vocal during the drafting of a new constitution of Ireland by Fianna Fáil against any word which would have given the Catholic Church special status, something heavily considered at the time. Boland declared that if the constitution elevated the position of the Catholic Church above others, it would be sectarian, anti-republican, and a hindrance to any prospects of Irish reunification. As a compromise, the term ‘special relationship’ was used in the final version of the draft.

Minister for Justice
The outbreak of World War II in 1939, known as the Emergency in Ireland, resulted in a number of new cabinet appointments and Boland became Minister for Justice. He took over at a time when the IRA had once again declared war against the British state and had begun their Sabotage Campaign. Boland was charged with the task of crushing the organisation and preventing the IRA from drawing the Irish state into conflict with the UK. Although Boland always considered himself a Republican, he took a hardline against the IRA and used his powers to order the internment of hundreds of IRA members before introducing military courts and special criminal courts.

In 1940, a number of imprisoned IRA members went on hunger strike, Boland, however, refused to grant their release. Two of the men eventually died, one of whom was the nephew of one of Boland's Fianna Fáil colleagues. Tony D'Arcy died as a result of a 52 day Hunger-strike (16 April 1940) at the age of 32 and Jack McNeela died three days later (19 April 1940) after 55 days on hunger strike. These deaths sparked reprisals by the IRA on the Garda Síochána. Boland subsequently introduced tougher measures by setting up a military court with the death penalty with no provision for appeal except for a review by the government. In all, twelve men were found guilty with six of them facing death and the remaining six having their sentences changed to imprisonment. Amongst those executed was Charlie Kerins, an acting Chief of Staff of the IRA.

As Minister of Justice, Boland was also asked to enforce policies of wartime censorship, however, finding the idea of the state censorship distasteful he established a censorship board to avoid accusations of bias.

During the Emergency, Boland was also responsible for the detention of several foreign agents in pursuit of Ireland's strict policy of neutrality. During this time some 500 individuals were interned and 600 were sentenced under the newly introduced Offences against the State Act, 1939. By 1943 the IRA were in disarray, particularly after the Chief of Staff was arrested and imprisoned, leaving the organisation without leadership. Boland and Fianna Fáil felt their hardline was backed by the electorate following strong returns for the party at the 1944 general election.

In 1947, Boland was amongst four leading Fianna Fáil figures (including de Valera) of being involved in the "Locke's Distillery Scandal", an accusation brought by Oliver J. Flanagan that foreign businessmen were bribing members of Fianna Fáil in order to gain the right to purchase the distillery. A tribunal of inquiry found no evidence to support the claims, but nonetheless event tainted the public's view of Fianna Fáil.

Second term as Minister of Justice
By 1948, Fianna Fáil had been in government for an uninterrupted 16 years. With World War II finally over, the electorate sought change and a fresh start. Arising to meet this desire was the new political party Clann na Poblachta. Led by Seán MacBride, this new party sought to kick off a new post-war political era in Ireland, and to do this meant removing Fianna Fáil from power. Many in Clann na Poblachta had Republican backgrounds and in some ways the party could be partially described as an organic reaction to Fianna Fáil and Boland's hardline stance during the war years. Many in political circles, including inside Fianna Fáil, thought Clann na Poblachta could be a new force to reckon with.

However, de Valera always held a reputation for being cunning in selecting the dates of general elections, and he once again cemented that notion when he called for a general election in early 1948, before Clann na Poblachta was completely ready to contest a national election. At the 1948 general election Clann na Poblachta and other Fianna Fáil opponents did well, but not as well as expected. In order to remove Fianna Fáil from government, every single party in the Dáil and a number of independents had to form the unwieldy "First Inter-Party Government". The coalition saw Clann na Poblachta forced to work with Fine Gael, considered the traditional "enemy" of Irish Republicanism. By 1951 the coalition collapsed and Fianna Fáil returned to government following that year's election, with Boland re-appointed Minister for Justice.

Later years
Boland did not seek ministerial office in 1957 when Fianna Fáil returned to power after its defeat in 1954. However, his son, Kevin, was appointed to the cabinet as Minister for Defence at the beginning of his first term in the Dáil. By this stage, Boland was beginning to be seen as an ageing warhorse, with his base in Roscommon started to slip and Fianna Fáil unhappy that Boland was unable to get a Fianna Fáil running mate elected alongside himself.

At the 1961 general election, Boland was defeated for the first time in fourteen general election campaigns. In spite of losing his Dáil seat, he subsequently secured election to Seanad Éireann. Four years later in 1965, he returned to the Seanad, this time as a nominee by the Taoiseach Seán Lemass.

In 1970, the outbreak of the Arms Crisis saw Kevin Boland resign as a Minister and as Secretary of Fianna Fáil in protest at the government's policy on Northern Ireland and in response to the sackings of Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney from the cabinet over allegations they had arranged for weapons to be provided to the Provisional IRA. Gerald Boland, in a similar protest, resigned as a vice-president and as a trustee of Fianna Fáil, although he remained a member of the party. He also articulated his loss of confidence in the leadership of Taoiseach Jack Lynch.

Death
Gerald Boland died in Dublin at the age of 87 on 5 January 1973. His wife, Annie Boland, predeceased him in 1970. He was survived by his three daughters and four sons.

title: Gerald Boland


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Kevin Boland

Kevin Boland (15 October 1917 – 23 September 2001) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of Aontacht Éireann from 1971 to 1976, Minister for Social Welfare from 1961 to 1966 and 1969 to 1970, Minister for Local Government from 1966 to 1970 and Minister for Defence from 1957 to 1961. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1957 to 1970.

He is one of eight TDs appointed as a Minister at the beginning of their first term in the Dáil.

Early life and career
Boland was born in Dublin in 1917. He attended St. Joseph's C.B.S. in Fairview, leaving in 1933. He was the son of Gerald Boland, a founder-member of Fianna Fáil, and the nephew of Harry Boland. Despite this, the young Boland failed to get elected to Dáil Éireann on his first two attempts, standing in the Dublin County constituency at the 1951 general election and again at the 1954 general election. Double success followed at the 1957 general election, when he was not only elected to the 16th Dáil but was appointed to the cabinet as Minister for Defence on his very first day in the Dáil. This was due to the retirement of his father who had served in every Fianna Fáil government since 1932.

The Defence portfolio was largely considered a safe and uncontroversial position, so Boland made only a small impact. As a Minister, he displayed a fáinne (gold ring) on the lapel of his jacket, which indicated that he was able and willing to speak the Irish language. He frequently conducted his governmental business in Irish, which he was very good at; he had won awards for it in school. In 1961, he was moved from Defence to become the Minister for Social Welfare. He remained there until the retirement in 1966 of the Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, when Fianna Fáil faced the first leadership contest in its history. He was then appointed Minister for Local Government which post he held until he left government in 1970.

The leadership race immediately erupted as a two-horse battle between Charles Haughey and George Colley. Both of these men epitomised the new kind of professional politician of the 1960s. Things changed when Neil Blaney indicated his interest in running. Boland supported him in his campaign, as both men hailed from the republican and left wing of the party. There was talk at one point of Boland himself entering the leadership race. In the end Jack Lynch was chosen as a compromise, and he became the new Taoiseach. Boland was appointed as Minister for Local Government in the new government.

Arms Crisis
In 1969, events in Northern Ireland caused political chaos over the border in Ireland. It was the start of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and Fianna Fáil's policy with regard to the North was coming into question. One crisis meeting was held after another, in which the possibility of decisive action was discussed. The "hawks" in the cabinet urged a symbolic invasion of Northern Ireland to protect nationalists near the border, and to draw international attention, while the "doves", who ultimately prevailed, urged caution. These cabinet meetings were heated events. On one occasion Boland was alleged to have been so angry that he resigned not only his cabinet position but also his Dáil seat and went home to his farm in County Dublin to make hay. The resignations were rejected by the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, after a calming-down period. In what became known as the Arms Crisis two ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, were sacked from the government in May 1970, for allegedly being involved in a plot to import arms for Republicans in the North. Boland resigned in solidarity with them and in protest about the government's position on the North. Later that year his criticism of the Taoiseach (whom Boland and many others within the Party maintained had authorized the arms importation) led to his expulsion from the Fianna Fáil party. Boland resigned as a TD on 4 November 1970.

One of Boland's most famous incidents took place at the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis in 1971. Just before Jack Lynch's speech Boland stormed a nearby podium, interrupting Patrick Hillery in the middle of his speech. Boland openly defied the party leadership and his opponents, holding his arms wide open and shouting to the crowd, "Come on up and put me down." While there was a lot of booing and clapping in an effort to drown him out, many of his supporters started cheering and chanting "We want Boland." An enraged Patrick Hillery grabbed his microphone and famously replied, "If you want a fight you can have it … You can have Boland, but you can't have Fianna Fáil." At this point the government supporters went ecstatic with cheering and Boland was carried out of the hall.

Political decline and retirement
Boland founded his own political party, Aontacht Éireann (Irish Unity) in 1971. It won very little support and Boland himself failed to be elected to the Dáil in 1973, which effectively ended his political career. Boland and his colleagues resigned from the party in 1976 after it was taken over by a number of far-right individuals. He remained an outspoken critic of the Republic's Northern Ireland policy, particularly the Sunningdale Agreement. He made one last attempt to reclaim a Dáil seat, standing unsuccessfully in the Dublin South-West constituency at the 1981 general election. He then retired from public life completely.

In 1996, he sued the Irish Independent for libel after a 28 January 1993 article incorrectly stated that he had appeared before the court in the Arms Trial in 1970 and had been dismissed as a Minister by Taoiseach Jack Lynch. He was awarded £75,000 in damages.

Kevin Boland died in Dublin on 23 September 2001.

Books
Boland wrote a series of political books, including his self-published autobiography, Up Dev!:

title: Kevin Boland


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Brendan Corish

Brendan Corish (19 November 1918 – 17 February 1990) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Minister for Health from 1973 to 1977, Leader of the Labour Party, Minister for Social Welfare from 1954 to 1957 and from 1973 to 1977, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government from 1948 to 1951. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1948 to 1982.

Early and personal life
He was born at William Street in Wexford town. His father, Richard Corish, a well-known trade union official and Sinn Féin member, had been elected to the Second Dáil shortly after the birth of his son and later joined the Labour Party, serving as a local and national politician until his death in 1945. His mother was Catherine Bergin.

He was educated locally at Wexford CBS and, in his youth, was a member of the 2nd Wexford Scout troop (Scouting Ireland). At the age of nineteen, he joined the clerical staff of Wexford County Council.

He was married to Phyllis, and they had three sons.

He spent several years playing Gaelic football for the Wexford county team.

Political career
Corish was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Labour Party candidate in the Wexford by-election in 1945, necessitated by the death of his father who was the sitting TD. He took a seat on the fractured opposition benches, as Fianna Fáil's grip on power continued.

He retained his seat at the 1948 general election in which Fianna Fáil was returned as the largest party in the Dáil once again. However, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the National Labour Party, Clann na Poblachta, Clann na Talmhan and a number of Independent candidates all came together to form the first inter-party government. Corish was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Defence and Local Government.

When the second inter-party government was formed after the 1954 general election, Corish was appointed Minister for Social Welfare.

In 1960 Corish succeeded William Norton as Labour Party leader. He introduced new policies which made the party more socialist in outlook and described the party program as Christian socialist. Corish considered that the party principles were those endorsed by Pope John XXIII and greatly admired the Pope who he said was "one of the greatest contributors of all changes in Irish attitudes". However, the party moved carefully because 'socialism' was still considered a dirty word in 1960s Ireland. Corish claimed that Ireland would be 'Socialist in the Seventies'. To a certain extent he was right because Fine Gael and the Labour Party formed a coalition government between 1973 and 1977. Corish became Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Social Welfare. A wide range of social security benefits were introduced during Corish's time as a government minister, including a Deserted Wife's Benefit and Unmarried Mother's Allowance, Prisoner's Wife's Allowance, Single Woman's Allowance, and the Supplementary Welfare Allowance, providing supplementary income to individuals and families with low incomes. In 1974, compulsory social insurance was extended to virtually all employees, and that same year short-term social insurance benefits (occupational injury, maternity, unemployment and sickness benefits) became partially index-linked. According to one study, this signalled “an extension in the function of the income maintenance system from basic income support to proportional replacement of market earnings for some groups.” The replacement of the existing flat-rate unemployment benefit with an earnings-related benefit meant that the average unemployment replacement rate went up from about 30% to 60%.

Corish was deeply religious, telling the Dáil in 1953 that "I am an Irishman second, I am a catholic first...if the hierarchy give me any direction with regard to catholic social teaching or catholic moral teaching, I accept without qualification in all respects the teaching of the hierarchy and the church to which I belong".

In 1977, the Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave called a general election, and Fianna Fáil was returned to power in a landslide victory. Corish resigned as leader of the Labour Party, having signalled his intent to do so before the election. He was succeeded as party leader by Frank Cluskey. Corish retired from politics completely at the February 1982 general election.

Death
Brendan Corish died on 17 February 1990 in Wexford at the age of 71.

Works

 * The New Republic (February 1968)

title: Brendan Corish