The Kernow Branch of the Celtic League have set up a petition calling for Cornwall Council to vote in favour of making St Piran’s Day (5th March) an annual public holiday in Cornwall and recommending to the UK Government that they do the same.
The petition forms part of a long term campaign by the Celtic League to persuade councils in Cornwall to vote in favour of making St Piran’s day a public holiday for their staff. To date a total of eight councils in Cornwall have voted to make St Piran’s day a annual holiday for their staff, including Cornwall’s only city council.
The `Dy’ Gool Sen Peran’ (St Piran’s Day Holiday) petition is the first to be created on Cornwall Councils online petition site and aims to collect over 5000 signatures in electronic and hardcopy format with the aim of getting the full council to debate and vote in favour of the issue before St Piran’s Day 2012.
In addition to creating the petition, the branch has been busy writing to the town councils again in Cornwall who have not yet voted in favour of making St Piran’s Day an annual holiday, calling on them to now make this decision. The branch has also written to all six of Cornwall’s Members of Parliament (MP’s) asking them to highlight what their stance on the issue is, following the May 2010 general elections and change of government. Previously all five MP’s (the number of constituencies in Cornwall increased by one at the last general election) were in favour of making St Piran’s Day a public holiday in Cornwall, with MP Dan Rogerson calling on the UK government in 2006 to recognise this.
If Cornwall Council were to vote in favour of St Piran’s day becoming a public holiday, they would be following the lead taken in other Celtic countries of the UK. Both Scotland and the north of Ireland have voted to make their national saint days – Andrew (30th November) and Patrick (17th March) respectively – public holidays. In 2000, the Welsh Senedd (National Assembly) voted in favour of making their own national patron saint day, St David’s (1st March), a public holiday in Wales and recommended to the UK government that they act on this decision, which was rejected.
The online petition reads:
“We, the undersigned, call on Cornwall Council to vote in favour of Dydh Sen Peran/St Piran’s Day (5th March) becoming an annual public holiday in Cornwall and to make a recommendation to the UK Government to do the same.”
The petition can be signed by clicking on the link below:
https://www.freepetition.co.uk/cornwall/LivePetition.aspx?PageId=1
This article prepared for Celtic News by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot General Secretary Celtic League. For follow-up comment or clarification contact:
Tel: 0044 (0)1209315884 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting
M: 0044(0)7787318666 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting
J B Moffatt (Mr)
Director of Information
Celtic League
09/02/11