In 2001the Interceltic Congress, held at Rennes, was attended by 200delegates, half from Brittany and the other half from ‘other Celticcountries’. The theme of the conference was ‘History in the CelticCountries Nowadays — People without memory are people with nofuture’.

In 1867, at atime when Bretons were desperately trying to preserve theirlanguage and traditions against the cultural imperialism of thecentralized French state, Hersart de La Villemarqué, author of thefamous Barzaz-Breiz (Songs of Brittany), sent out a call for whatwas to become the first Interceltic Congress, to be held at Saint-Brieuc. His appeal was to his ‘compatriots from Wales, brothersfrom Cornwall and cousins from Ireland and Scotland’.