Tynwald Day on the Isle of Man (c) Visit Isle of Man (p) GoUK.com
What
Tynwald Day Fair
When
5 July 2012
Where
Tynwald Day, St John’s, Isle of Man
The Fanfare
Tynwald Day, 5 July, is the national day of the Isle of Man, and is marked by an open-air meeting of its legislature – claimed to be the oldest continuous parliament in the world.
The Tynwald, which celebrated 1,000 years of existence in 1979, consists of two chambers, the Legislative Council and the House of Keys.
They normally sit in the island’s capital, Douglas.
But once a year a session is held in the village of St John’s on Tynwald Hill, an artificial mound said to be made from soil collected from each of the island’s 17 parishes.
This so-called ‘Midsummer Court’ begins with a religious service in the chapel of St John the Baptist.
Then the members of the Tynwald process with a military escort along a path strewn with rushes to Tynwald Hill.
There the Deemsters (the Isle of Man’s High Court judges) proclaim to the people in English and Manx Gaelic the titles of new laws that have been passed during the year.
It is also an opportunity for island residents to exercise their ancient right to petition for redress of grievances, and for the swearing-in of the island’s four Coroners.
On the green at St John’s the Tynwald Fair has stalls, shies, bands, dancers and other entertainments.
A speciality sold is home-made Tynwald Fudge.
The Isle of Man
- The Isle of Man measures 53km by 21 km (33 by 13 miles) and lies in the Irish Sea between Lancashire and Northern Ireland.
- It is not part of the United Kingdom but a crown possession that is self-governing in its internal affairs under the supervision of the British Home Office.
- It has a population of around 80,000, its own currency and postage stamps and the largest working waterwheel in the world.
- There are flights to the Isle of Man from many regional UK airports, Gatwick and London City, and ferries from Heysham and Liverpool/Birkenhead.
Tynwald Day, St John’s, Isle of Man
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