Celtic Alliance (1983: Doomsday)

The Celtic Alliance, officially the Alliance of the Celtic Peoples is a parliamentary-federal republic situated in Western Europe. The political state was formed as a result of survivor nations surrounding the Irish Sea joining together after Doomsday to form a single political state (while still preserving a great deal of national autonomy for its member nations). Following the nuclear destruction across France and the United Kingdom, Eire was one of the most powerful and stable state in Western Europe. After the first few years of securing its own survival Eire would then go on to help stabilize the surrounding nations and bring them under normalized control.

Eventually this alliance between Eire and the surrounding nations would be strengthened and a single united federal republic was formed.

The political state was founded on the ideals of social democracy, federalism, civic republicanism, Pan-Celticism as well as Celtic revival. Today the republic is one of the strongest political states in military and economic terms left in Europe and to a certain extent the world and is a leading member of the Euro-Atlantic Fringe. It is also a secular state.

Eire (Ireland)
The capital city of Eire (Ireland) and of the Celtic Alliance as a whole, is the city of Dublin.

It is formed from the Irish Republic counties of Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow, Kildare, Meath, Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal

Also included are the counties of the former British Northern Ireland (or Ulster) namely Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone.

Although Belfast (the capital of Ulster) was hit on DD the other towns and cities in Ulster and the Republic of Ireland survived relativly unscathed

Mainland Scotland
The capital is Glasgow. It is formed from the former Scottish Counties of Dumfrieshire, Perthshire, Inverneshire, Ayrshire, Caithness and Sutherland, Ross, Moray, Angus and Aberdeenshire, Argyll, and small areas of neighboring counties.

Areas around the towns of Ayr and Dumfries were taken into the Celtic Alliance after the defeat of Ur Alba in the Ur Alba War

Outer Hebridies
It is formed from the Islands of Lewis (where the capital of Stonoway is located), Harris, North Uist, South Uist, Benbecula, Barra, Scalpay, Brenera, and Grimsay.

Inner Hebridies
It is formed from the islands of Skye (where the capital of Portree is located), Jura, Mull, Raasay, Arran, Ilsay, Tiree and Colonsay, along with the small isles of Rum, Eigg, Canna, and Muck.

Northern Isles
It is formed from the island groups of Shetland and Orkney, where the capital of Kirkwall is located.

Wales
The Celtic Alliance welcomed the whole of Wales into the Alliance in 2002.

It is formed from the former Welsh counties of Powys, Pembrokeshire, Gwyneed, Anglesey, Conway, Snowdonia, Ceredigion, Denbighshire, the Valleys, Monmouthshire, Glamorgan, Neath, the Gower, Carmarthanshire, Bridgend, and Flintshire.

When Welsh counties joined the Celtic Alliance


 * Anglesey, Conway, Snowdonia, and Ceredigion joined in 1995.


 * Denbighshire, Flintshire, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthanshire and the Gower joined in 1997


 * The Valleys, Monmouthshire, Glamorgan, Neath and Bridgend joined in 1999.


 * Powys joined in 2002.

The offical capital is Aberystwyth in Ceredigion.

England
Formed from the former English counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire, Glostershire, Somerset, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Merseyside, Oxfordshire, Berkshire (where New London is located), Worchestershire, along with western parts of Cheshire, and Southern Buckinghamshire.

The official capital is Liverpool in Merseyside.

When English Counties offically joined the Celtic Alliance


 * Cornwall and Devon joined the Celtic Alliance in 1994.


 * Merseyside (Liverpool) and western Cheshire officially joined in 1995.


 * Somerset, Glostershire, Dorset and Wiltshire joined the Celtic Alliance in 1997.


 * Hertfordshire, Shropshire, and Worchestershire offically joined in 2000.


 * Oxfordshire, Berkshire (New London) and southern Buckinghamshire offically joined in 2002.

Celtic Alliance territories in the former UK are divided into three sections:
 * Devon and Cornwall - Have their own Regional Assembly.
 * North West - Includes Merseyside, Western Cheshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worchestershire.
 * Wessex - Includes Somerset, Glostershire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and southern Buckinghamshire.

Angel Isles

 * The Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm) Joined in 1993


 * The Isles of Scilly (St Mary's, Tresco, St Martins, St Agnes, Bryher and Samson) Joined in 1994


 * The Isle of Man (Manx and the Calf of Man). Joined in 1994

Captial city is Douglas on Manx.

Brittany and Lower Normandy
Formally part of the pre-Doomsday nation of France, the area around Brittany has always been culturally different to the rest of France often referred to by the French as little Britain as opposed to the UK known as Great Britain. This is mainly due to the fact that the area was settled by refugees from Great Britain after the conquest of the island by the Anglo-Saxons in the fifth to seventh centuary AD.

The Brittany locals speak both French and native Breton a Celtic language related to Welsh and Cornish.

The locals of Lower Normandy speak French and Norman, a version of French based on old Frankish, a language formally spoken throughout northern France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Western Germany.

Brittany became part of the Celtic Alliance in 1993.

Lower Normandy became part of the Celtic Alliance in 1995.

In 2009 the Celtic Alliance formalised its boundaries in the north of former France using the main rivers. To the south the River Loire and to the east the River Sarthe (tributary of the Loire), the River Eure (tributary of the River Siene) and then the border follows the River Seine to the English Channel.

History
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Brief History
The Celtic Alliance takes its roots directly after the nuclear attacks of the Cold War, when the Republic of Eire and the Northern Ireland Counties agreed to cooperate after Belfast was destroyed, bringing unrest to the area. Within the next few weeks the Cooperative government had determined that almost all other nations in Europe had been destroyed, exceptions coming from radio signals from Lewis Island, Scotland, where they came into contact with what effectively was the de facto government of the United Kingdom in the form of 5 Parliament members who had been on the island.

On March 20, 1986, the Celtic Alliance was formed from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

When the Celtic Alliance formed it officially claimed to be the successor to the United Kingdom, however these claims were modified due to discoveries of British survivor nations within the former UK.

It would not be until 1990 when the CA would make contact with the rest of the world. After contact with made with the Portugese rump government they would go on to make contact with Australia, where they would negotiate the return of some of the United Kingdom's ships that were stranded.

Medicine Impact
Long held as centre for medical excellence the Alliance is once again at the forefront of medical advances in treating radiation sickness and other ailments brought on by the aftermath of Doomsday. The Alliance is formally asked by the LofN's to house the Medical wing of the LofN's. this is opened by the Secretary General in November 2008. The positioning of the medical wing is also based on the Alliances proximity to mainland Europe and also its distance from the Sicilian Republic.

The LoN Mediwing is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the LoN's system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical and pratical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

In the 21st century, health is a shared responsibility, involving equitable access to essential care and collective defence against transnational threats.

The Constitution & Political Framework
The 2009 Constitution is the principle document up on which all future law and principles of democratic government are to be based on. the document takes its foundation from the great political documents of human history especially, the United Nations Charter, Irish Consitution, Magna Carta 1215 and the Declaration of Arbroath of 1314. The Alliances democracy is founded on eight pillers, independent judiciary, personal freedom, dignity, self determination, the rule of law, the right of association, freely elected government and universal suffarge.

Preamble to the Consitution: ''Let it be known, that if our government should give up what we have begun, and agree to make us or our Alliance subject to any other, we should exert ourselves at once to drive out our government as our enemy and a subverter of their own rights and ours, and make another government who was well able to defend us and our constitution; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under the rule of tyranny. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we lay down this consitution, but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest person gives up but with life itself.''
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Divisions
The present Parliament or Oireachtas sits in Dublin with 77 MPs

After Doomsday, the party political structure changed completely with Sinn Féin (OTL Irish Republican), SNP (OTL Scottish Nationalist) and the former Ulster Unionits (OTL British Unionists) merging to form a northern block called the Dalriadic Party (OTL Dalriada former Celtic kingdom crossing northern Ireland, Donegal and western Scotland circa 8th Century) to ensure adequate representation for Donegal, the Ulster counties and Scottish Islands. In recent years emerging political alliances have emerged between pro-devolution supporters bringing about the Celtic Democratic Bloc

Culture

 * See also: 

Most people living in the Celtic Alliance are united by a shared Celtic history and culture, although the nations still retain the unique national identities. Although united as a single political state most people from Ireland are still identity themselves Irish first and Celtic second, and the same could be said for the other nationalities. Still the Celts maintain a friendly bond between each other which has only straightened since doomsday. The state encourages the use of a Celtic identity, although it also protects the lesser nationalities. Several pre existing Celtic organisations such as the Celtic League or the Celtic Congress have been officially nationalized by the government.

The Celtic Alliance also promotes increased use of the once endangered Celtic languages. With the destruction of several urban centers and the use of the languages in isolated areas, the proportion of Gaelic and Celtic speakers to the general population has greatly increased. This coped with increased education means that these languages are ever increasing in both speakers and importance. Never the less English is still the most widely used and understood language. French on the other had has declined, and most of the younger Bretons now speak either English or Breton.

However despite the ever present Celtic influence throughout the state there remain several areas that do not share this identity. The people of Channel Islands, the Cherbourg Peninsula (Normandy) and the English parts of the country are non Celtic, and remain culturally isolated from the rest of the country. Although the far northern coast of Cornwall is both Celtic and within the Alliances sphere on influence, the population here remains extremely low thanks to the nuclear attacks in the area. There has been talks of independence in these areas from the rest of the country, although given their critical dependence on the rest of the Alliance this remains very unlikely for the time being.

National Anthem
In order to return the nation to a normal footing the government agrees to a request for song contest based on the former eurovision model. The aim of the contest is to restore the tradition of singing and oral history as well as giving the emerging nation some light relief. In addition the contest will pick three anthems National Anthem of the Celtic Alliance, Offical Anthem of Parliament and the Official Presidentail Anthem. thumb|100px|right|You will never wak alone anthem of the Celtic Alliancethumb|100px|right|2nd Place in anthem contest thumb|100px|right|3rd Place and Winner of the Presidential Anthem Surprise National Anthem entrant – Barbara Striesand! Former American citizen who was on holiday in Ireland during DD comes forward with surprise entry of the Carousel Musical hit of the 1960’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Mass demonstrations in support across the Alliance after a deeply moving and personal stage performance paying tribute to all of the fallen especially those she left behind in the former U.S.A. All other enteries have withdrawn from the competition and throw their weight behind Barbara.

In a statement the President said after the show,

'I am moved beyond comprehension, each emotion we have collectively held since 1983 has poured forth like a torrent since hearing Barbara. I am in no doubt that the people have their new National Bard as well as a new anthem. The music speaks for itself’

Speaking after the show, Ms Streisand has said

' All I could do since 1984 was cry, today I stopped crying. It was all so emotional I only hope that people liked the song and what it means for the Alliance which has done so much for me since 1983. This is for them'

Contestants of the National Anthem Symposium Alliance Theatre Dublin 26th June 2009: 

In running order – 

Runrig – Protect and Survive Blue Nile - Tinseltown in The Rain

The Shop Assistants - Safety Net

Barbara Dickson - Caravan

Sweet Savage - Straight Through The Heart

Christy Moore – Ordinary man

Kate Bush - The Dreaming

Enya – May it Be

– Under a Blood Red Sky

Sheena Easton – The Arms of Orion

Barbara Streisand – You’ll Never Walk Alone

Top Three:

Winner By Acclaim Barbara Streisand – You’ll Never Walk Alone - National Anthem of the Celtic Alliance

2nd Barbara Dickson – Caravan - Winner of the Freedom Award - Offical Anthem of Parliament

3rd Enya – May it Be - Winner of the Presidential Anthem Award - Official Presidentail Anthem

Economy
The Economy of the Celtic Alliance is one of the largest in the world. It is based around many things, mainly exports such as ore mining, zinc, natural gas, sale of pharmaceuticals and other medical goods and agriculture. Most of Europe relies on the Celts for medical goods and the poorer communities food. Aviation materials are also a minor factor of the economy. The Celtic Alliance is the leader of Europe's latest military technology.

Military

 * See main article: 

Sports
Within former Ireland, Gaelic games (Gaelic football, hurling, rounders and camogie) are the most popular, followed by association football, rugby union, cricket and boxing.

The Gaelic Athletic Association is the official sanctioning and overseeing body over the four Gaelic games throughout the Celtic Alliance.

Within the portions of the country formerly part of the United Kingdom and France, association football is by far the most popular sport, with many of the national side players coming from the portions of former England, Scotland, Wales and France controlled by the Celtic Alliance.

There is a three-tiered association football pyramid in the Celtic Alliance. The Celtic First Division and Second Division are the top two flights and include the following clubs:

There is discussion among some fans and officials of reviving some or all of the London-based pre-Doomsday football clubs. Aside from the issue of a lack of a population base to support all (or most) of them, Celtic football officials also have cited a desire for a "new" football club for residents of the rebuilt London to support.
 * Bohemians
 * Bray Wanderers
 * FC Brittany
 * Celtic
 * Cork City
 * Derry City
 * Drogheda United
 * Dundaik
 * Galway United
 * Heart of Midlothian
 * Hibernian
 * Liverpool FC
 * New London FC
 * Normandy FC
 * Rangers
 * St. Patrick's Athletic
 * St. Johnstone's
 * Shamrock Rovers
 * Sligo
 * Stromness FC
 * FC Wales

Other popular sports, as they were in the former UK, are rugby union and cricket.

Rugby league had disappeared post-Doomsday, but there is a small national federation attempting to spark interest in that sport once more. Gaelic games have virtually no following outside former Ireland, although the GAA continues to attempt to establish them among the youth.

Golf has made a comeback of sorts in recent years, particularly as the famous St. Andrews Golf Course was salvaged and restored in 2008.

International Relations
The Celtic Alliance is a member of the and the Atlantic Defense Community.

They have close relations with many OBN nations particularly Kingdoms of Northumbria and Cleveland as well as Southern England.

Between the 23rd April and the 8th May 2011, the Celtic Alliance, along with the allied nations of Southern England and the Kingdoms of Cleveland and Northumbria were at war with the nation of Ur Alba.

During the The Ur Alba War the Celtic Alliance lost 832 military personnel. After the war, and the collapse of the nation of Ur Alba, the Celtic Alliance claimed lands conquered by Ur Alba in the past two years. The Celtic Alliance gets the entire Irish Sea coastline of the former nation of Ur Alba, from Glasgow to the border with the Kingdom of Northumbria and as far inland as the former A76 road.

As part of the peace deal the Celtic Alliance, along with the other allied nations helped set up a provisonal government for the newly created nation of Southern Scotland. The Celtic Alliance had four seats (of fourteen governmental seats) on the provisonal government, they helped rule the area until free, fair and democratic elections were held in the area in October 2011.

Currently the Celtic Alliance has borders with:
 * Northumbria in a very small section near the Celtic town of Dumfries.
 * There is a border with Lancaster.
 * It also has substantial border with Southern England between CA controlled Dorset and Southern England controlled Hampshire.
 * There are currently discussions about the border with Essex
 * Trade links have been set up with Duchy of Orléans and La République Poitevine due to the closeness of the two nations in Northern France.