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.
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 1980, a group calling itself An Gof 1980 exploded a bomb at the courthouse in St Austell. In January 1981, they claimed responsibility for a fire at a Penzance hairdressers (the business was mistaken for the Bristol and West Building Society). 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". [2] [3] Some commentators believed the group were claiming unrelated acts as their own. [4]
A group claiming to be An Gof stated on 12 March 2007 that it wanted to destroy all English flags in Cornwall. 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". [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. [1] A 36-year-old man was arrested in connection with the threats. [5]
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 settlement is Falmouth, 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.
Thomas Flamank was a lawyer and former MP from Cornwall, who together with Michael An Gof led the Cornish rebellion of 1497, a protest against taxes imposed by Henry VII of England.
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.
The Cornish people or Cornish are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the Brittonic Celtic ancient Britons who inhabited Great Britain from somewhere between the 11th and 7th centuries BC and inhabited Britain at the time of the Roman conquest. Many in Cornwall today continue to assert a distinct identity separate from or in addition to English or British identities. Cornish identity has also been adopted by some migrants into Cornwall, as well as by emigrant and descendant communities from Cornwall, the latter sometimes referred to as the Cornish diaspora. Although not included as a tick-box option in the UK census, the numbers of those writing in a Cornish ethnic and national identity are officially recognised and recorded.
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.
Philip John Payton is a British-Australian historian and Emeritus Professor of Cornish and Australian Studies at the University of Exeter and formerly Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies based at Tremough, just outside Penryn, Cornwall. An Australian citizen, he is Professor of History at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.
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.
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
Cornish devolution is the movement to increase the governing powers of the County of Cornwall.
Separatism in the United Kingdom may refer to the secession of any of the countries of the United Kingdom from the union. Less significant movements for separatism exist such as Cornwall within England.
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:
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