North American Manx Association

08/27/2026

08/25/2026

So as well as the St Patrick’s Isle cheese there is this at Publix.

Made with simple ingredients on the Isle of Man, our Publix Deli Im...

08/22/2026

Next online meeting September 26, noon eastern.

08/22/2026

The Manx National Flower is flourishing across the Isle of Man at the moment...
Which reminds us of this thoughtful poem by Annie Kissack Poetry RBV:

CUSHAG

Our national flower's a noxious w**d,
some old colonial joke: cushag,
the sulphur glow of husbandry gone wrong.
Should I take patriot offence or perhaps concede the point?
Out in our August fields it's almost everywhere
stretching tall to burst in constellations;
we've kept the horses well away.
But fairy gold or brash badge of shame,
bearer of a Manx or English name,
the common ragwort lives on borrowed time;
pull up, get rid, move on

or not ...

perhaps we might consider the slow fat bees of summer,
the little moths of orange-blotch,
all shape of hungry insect thing that sips or snacks
or hangs upon this yellow petal patch.
Here loops the cinnabar moth in startling caterpillar guise;
fierce mouthing at the table, tiger-ravenous its rise.
It arches and dips, rips through head, leaftip and stem,
munching to satiety then disbelief
like ours, that all has gone.

___

This comes from her first collection of poems, 'Mona Sings,' published in 2022, with support from Culture Vannin.
All of Annie's poetry collections are available in good Manx bookshops, & they come thoroughly recommended.

Entries are open NOW for applications to be the next Manx Bard, but make sure you get them in before 30 August!
All information on The Manx Bard page: https://www.facebook.com/ManxBard/
.. And, of course, there is another famous poem about the cushag which many will now be thinking of - 'To the Cushag's Friend' - it is by Josephine Kermode and can be found in her first collection, from 1907: https://manxliterature.com/browse-by-author/cushag/ :)

07/23/2026

The latest figures from the annual Visitor Economy Report show 352,301 people visited the Island in 2025, up 6.9% on the previous year. The report also highlighted that visitor satisfaction has reached its highest recorded level, with 99.2% of people describing themselves as satisfied or very satisfied with their visit, up from 98.7% in 2024.

Tourism's contribution to the economy has increased by 138% over the past decade

07/21/2026

Laurence Skelly is now both a past-President of Tynwald and a past-President of the North American Manx Association. We wish him the best of luck in whatever he does next!

Laurence Skelly retires from the role of President of Tynwald after a 15-year career in politics.