| An GoF | |
| Dates of operation | 1980´s |
|---|---|
| Active regions | Cornwall |
| Ideology | Anti-imperialism Anti-English sentiment Anti-capitalism Cornish nationalism Cornish Devolution |
An Gof was a militant Cornish nationalist group suspected of a series of attacks in the 1980s. [1] The name was also used by a group in 2007. [2]
The organisation's name is Cornish for "The Smith", and takes its name from the trade of Michael An Gof, a leader of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497.
In December 9 of 1980, a group calling itself An Gof 1980 exploded a bomb at the courthouse in St Austell, leaving material damage and claiming the attack via anonymous call to a local newspaper. [2] [3] In January 1981, they claimed responsibility for a fire at a Penzance hairdressers (the business was mistaken for the Bristol and West Building Society). [2] [4]
Later in the decade, An Gof claimed responsibility for a number of fires, including one at the Zodiac Bingo Hall in Redruth. They also claimed responsibility for an attempted explosion at Beacon Village Hall in Camborne and placing broken glass under the sand at Portreath Beach in 1984, "to deter tourists". [5] [6] Some commentators believed the group were claiming unrelated acts as their own or an attempt to tarnish the image of the cornish nationalists. [2] [7] [8]
A group claiming to be An Gof stated on 12 March 2007 that it wanted to destroy all English flags in Cornwall. [2] A statement made by a spokesman for the group was faxed to the Cornish Branch of the Celtic League by an unknown person who withheld their telephone number and reads as follows:
Out of respect for many of the decent and honourable Cornish people present today, we have asked our membership to remain inactive. We are aware that reputations were placed on the line by moderate Cornish Nationals who have been subject of death threats from the far right as well as threats of action by the police. However, we wish to make this point very clear: any attempts from hereon to fly the hated and oppressive Flag of St. George of England which we know as the blood banner in this our Country will result in direct action by our organization. For those who question our motives, we refer them to the events of 1497 and 1549 and the years of English Imperialistic repression which has followed. We shall not show the tolerance of those standing Vigil today and our action will be to remove and burn the flags of the English which may cause peripheral damage. An Gof 1497.[ citation needed ]
In March 2007 a group claiming to be the resurrected "An Gof" committed several acts of vandalism, including spraying anti-English graffiti on buildings and slashing English flags in gardens. These actions were condemned by the Cornish nationalist political party Mebyon Kernow, who appealed to the group to "work for Cornwall through other positive means". [5] [2]
This was followed on 13 June 2007 by a declaration from a new group called the Cornish National Liberation Army, which claimed to have formed due to a merger of An Gof and the Cornish Liberation Army, and declared the restaurants in Cornwall owned by Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein to be targets for terrorist action and enemies of the Cornish people. [9] [1] A 36-year-old man was arrested in connection with the threats. [10]
Cornwall is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised by Cornish and Celtic political groups as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest urban area in the county is a conurbation that includes the former mining towns of Redruth and Camborne, and the county town is the city of Truro.
The Cornish Nationalist Party is a political party founded in 1975. It initially campaigned for independence for Cornwall but later supported devolved powers under central UK control.
Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currently has five elected councillors on Cornwall Council, and several town and parish councillors across Cornwall.
Michael Joseph, better known as Michael An Gof, was one of the leaders of the Cornish rebellion of 1497, along with Thomas Flamank.
The Cornish rebellion of 1497, also known as the First Cornish rebellion, was a popular uprising in the Kingdom of England, which began in Cornwall and culminated with the Battle of Deptford Bridge near London on 17 June 1497.
The constitutional status of Cornwall has been a matter of debate and dispute. Cornwall is an administrative county of England.
A Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved law-making assembly for Cornwall along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the United Kingdom.
Cornwall is administered as a county of South West England whose politics are influenced by a number of issues that make it distinct from the general political scene in the wider United Kingdom, and the political trends of neighbouring counties. Its position on the geographical periphery of the island of Great Britain is also a factor.
Cornish nationalism is a cultural, political and social movement that seeks the recognition of Cornwall – the south-westernmost part of the island of Great Britain – as a nation distinct from England. It is usually based on three general arguments:
The Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) was a short-lived Cornish nationalist paramilitary organisation that threatened to perform acts of vandalism and arson against commercial targets that it considered to be English, in Cornwall. The organisation has been described by the Cornish political party Mebyon Kernow as a 'pseudo-terrorist group'.
Cornish Solidarity was a Cornish direct action protest group founded in 1998, campaigning for Cornish issues, principally including Objective One status for Cornwall and more support for the Cornish economy in light of mine closures during the 1990s.
Devonwall is one name given to various proposals to link or combine the counties of Cornwall and Devon together in whole or in part. The name was initially used to describe political concept introduced in the United Kingdom in the 1970s by the Conservative government. It was an attempt to link the two counties together in an economic, political and statistical sense to form a South West region. This involved combining and centralising some local government functions and services such as the police, ambulance, fire services, as well as media output such as local TV and newspapers.
Helena Sanders née Charles was a Cornish humanitarian, cultural activist, politician and poet. Sanders was the founder of the political party, Mebyon Kernow, in 1951. She was also well known for her feline welfare efforts in Venice.
This timeline summarizes significant events in the History of Cornwall
The Cornwall Council election, 2009, was an election for all 123 seats on the council. Cornwall Council is a unitary authority that covers the majority of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, with the exception of the Isles of Scilly which have an independent local authority. The elections took place concurrently with other local elections across England and Wales as well as the UK component of the elections to the European Parliament. Cornwall had seen its district and county councils abolished, replaced by a single 123-member Cornish unitary authority, for which councillors were elected for a full term.
Loveday Elizabeth Trevenen Jenkin is a politician, biologist and language campaigner. She has been a member of Cornwall Council since 2011, and currently serves as councillor for Crowan, Sithney and Wendron.
Rhisiart Tal-e-bot is a Welsh activist, Early Years lecturer who has been General Secretary of the Celtic League since 2006 and editor of Carn magazine since 2013. He is also the former president of the European Free Alliance Youth.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:
Dorothy Ann Trevenen Jenkin was a Cornish and British writer, teacher, librarian, and activist for Cornish independence. She was the first woman Grand Bard of Gorsedh Kernow and a founder member of Mebyon Kernow and its honorary president from 2011 until her death. Her bardic name was Bryallen, and she was Grand Bard from 1997 to 2000.
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