In honour of the Isle of Man’s national day on July 5th, a celebration of Manx National Week has been taking place across the island until 7th July with a variety of events and activities.

The Hon Laurence Skelly, President of Tynwald said: “We wanted to re-ignite Manx National Week and encourage the wider community to celebrate everything that is Manx and special to our Island and our local areas.”

Annual events like the Cronk-y-Voddy Sports Day and the traditional Tynwald Day Ceremony on Friday 5th July will be highlights of Manx National week alongside events across the Island including a photography exhibition, an archive exhibition at The Leece Museum and Manx National Week displays across schools.

Tynwald Day is an annual celebration that commemorates the island’s parliament, known as Tynwald. It is considered one of the oldest continuous parliamentary traditions in the world, dating back over a thousand years. 

The day involves various ceremonies, including an open-air session of the parliament, where laws are proclaimed and petitions are presented.

The heart of the celebration is the iconic Tynwald Day Ceremony held at St John’s, a village on the western side of the island, where parliament meets in the open air on old midsummer’s day to promulgate Acts on Tynwald Hill. Each Act is read aloud in both Manx Gaelic and English. 

The ceremony is attended by members of the Tynwald, government officials, and the general public. 

Meanwhile, here is Australia, there are events planned by Manx groups across the country to celebrate the day. These include an Isle of Man flag lowering and celebration at the Australian Standing Stones. And Queensland Manx Society will have a luncheon at Arana Leagues Club in Brisbane.

AUSTRALIAN EVENTS

05 JUL

Tynwald Day Flag Lowering, 4pm

Australian Standing Stones

Glen Innes NSW

06 JUL

Queensland Manx Society Tynwald Day, 11am – 3pm Arana Leagues Club

Keperra QLD

Queensland Manx Society

Picture: Top, Manx Society of New South Wales. Credit: Manx Society of New South Wales