[1] The Celtic League is an accredited NGO with roster consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (EcoSoc).

[3] There is some variation in the understanding of these aims, which ranges from annual general meetings (AGMs), to an actual federation along the lines of the Nordic Council.

[citation needed] The 1987 Celtic League Annual General Meeting stated that it: "firmly reiterates that the Celtic League has a specific function within Celtia, i.e. to work for the reinstatement of our languages to a viable position, and the attainment of sufficient economic, cultural and political autonomy to guarantee the survival of our civilisation into the 21st century.

Two of the founding members were Gwynfor Evans and J. E. Jones, who were respectively president and secretary-general of the Welsh nationalist political party Plaid Cymru at the time.

[citation needed] There are various diaspora branches, that play little part in the annual general meetings: A Patagonian branch was founded in the Chubut River Valley, Argentina (the location of y Wladfa, a Welsh colony), at the end of 2009; it remained active as of October 2011[update], with Mónica Jones as secretary and her husband Michael Jones filling an unspecified post.

[6] Celtic League, American Branch (CLAB) was founded in New York City in 1974, and has its own newsletter,[7] but reported decreased activity as of October 2011[update],[6] the same year its domain name, CelticLeague.org, was lost to a cybersquatter.

[11] The Celtic League publishes a quarterly magazine, Carn, which highlights political struggles and cultural preservation issues.

[13] CLAB also produced a wall calendar each year, with art from members, appropriate quotations, and anniversaries; publication ceased with the 2008 issue.

Some of the more notable past and present members of the Celtic League have been Plaid Cymru leaders Gwynfor Evans and J. E. Jones, Scottish National Party leaders Winnie Ewing, Robert McIntyre and Rob Gibson, leader of Sinn Féin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, prominent Breton exiles Yann Fouéré and Alan Heusaff, the historian and writer Peter Berresford Ellis, writer Bernard Le Nail, and Manx language revivalist Brian Stowell.

[citation needed] In the mid-1990s, the Celtic League started a campaign to have the word "Alba" on the Scottish football and rugby tops.