Grants Allocated For Education Based Initiatives

For further information on each event simply click on the event name below:

University of Ulster, Institute of Ulster-Scots Studies
Ballycarry Community Association, Scottish History Course
St Michaels College, Uni. of Toronto, Conference on The Ulster-Scots Transatlantic Perspectives
Red Wine Productions, The Scotch Irish in America Documentary

Organisation:  University of Ulster
Event:              Institute of Ulster Scots Studies
Date:                January 2002 – December 2003

Through a joint negotiation between the Ulster Scots Agency and the University of Ulster, it was agreed that an Institute of Ulster Scots Studies would be established and located at Magee Campus of the University of Ulster.  The Ulster Scots Agency in partnership with the University of Ulster would provide funding for the Institute over a three year period, each providing matching funding in cash or kind for each of the three years.  Its Mission Statement is:

“To promote the understanding of Ulster Scots history, culture and heritage within Ulster and beyond to those regions where the Ulster Scots people have influenced the development of specific communities and nations.”

The goal of the Institute of Ulster Scots studies is to explore within a core research environment, the history, heritage and legacy of the Ulster Scots people.  The research is carried out in both a national and international context with the focus on the Ulster Scots Diaspora.  The role of the Institute is to promote the experience of the Ulster Scots as a mainstream academic concern.

Among the objectives of the Institute, the following areas have been identified:

Outreach Objectives:

• To write, develop and teach a course on the history of Ulster and Scotland/Ulster Scots.

• To initiate and significantly progress a migration project based on the manifest lists of ships leaving from the port of Londonderry for the United States and Canada.

• The institute will construct, develop and maintain a website which will eventually host a bibliographical database and other relevant information regarding the work of the Institute and Ulster Scots studies in general.


• Working with the Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages, the Institute will initiate research with the aim of mapping Ulster Scots settlement in Ulster initially, and later internationally.

The Institute have published a report outlining the work and progress from September 2001 to September 2002.

Organisation:  Ballycarry Community Association
Event:              Scottish History Course
Date:                September 2002

This course was run at Ballycarry Community Centre between 24 September and 4 December 2002.

Thirteen people took part in the course which covered 10 modules, dating back to the Picts and the Scots, the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Scottish Borderers as a case study, the Covenanters, Scottish Williamites and Jacobites, the Plantation of Ulster, Emigration to America, the role in the American Revolution and Ulster Scots Language and culture.  During each class the members received a Personal Learning Journal, which dealt with basic questions addressed during the lecture and were intended to serve as a learning tool and a later reminder of the subject matter.  The tutor assessed these Personal Learning Journals each week, and found there was a high standard being attained.

Those who participated in the class gave positive feedback and greatly enjoyed the event.  They particularly enjoyed the use of video and slides to highlight various historical periods, and they felt they ha learned a lot about aspects of Ulster Scots identity.  Feedback also intimated that the news about the class and the subjects covered were being passed into the wider community by those participating.  The class members also felt that a high educational standard was involved.

Ballycarry Community Association felt that the course helped heighten the profile of Ulster Scots identity in the area and feedback into the community was extremely valuable.

Organisation:   St Michael's College, Uni. of Toronto
Event:             Conference: The Ulster Scots Transatlantic Perspectives
Date:               2 November 2002

The aim of the conference was to encourage understanding of the Ulster Scots people in the wider perspective, outlining their significance both in the relationship between Scotland and Ulster, and on the world stage, and the contribution made by the Ulster Scots people to the settlement of America.

The Conference, attended by over sixty delegates, attracted established academics from North America, interested in researching the history of the Ulster Scots Diaspora, and gave them an opportunity to meet and exchange information.  The younger academics see their future field of work in researching the Ulster Scots in North America, and this conference was important in that it brings the young generation together with the established academics and reinforces the perception of the importance of this work.

Young students, some of them undergraduates, used the opportunity to seek information for work at masters and doctorate level in this field.  Professor John Wilson was able to advise two students on opportunities in Northern Ireland to do research for masters and doctorate degrees.

The conference attracted some members of the general public with an interest in Ireland and Ulster.  This allowed the profile of Ulster Scots to be raised with those who were largely ignorant and others with some knowledge undoubtedly benefited also.

The conference has given Ulster Scots a status in North America and Canada, and Ulster Scots studies have now began to acquire a standing as a legitimate field of academic investigation.  The development of this conference has afforded opportunities for all participants to network with each other, which in turn could lead to further joint initiatives between Ulster and North America.

From discussions after the conference, it now appears likely that this will become an annual event, with both Guelph and Toronto both wishing to stage the conference next year.  The academics from the United States, however, would like to see the conference move between America and Canada on a yearly basis.

Organisation:  Red Wine Productions
Event:             The Scotch Irish in America Documentary
Date:               9 October 2002

Redwine Productions received funding support from the Ulster Scots Agency for pre-production of a major television documentary with the working title The Scotch Irish in America.  Redwine Productions is developing this media project in association with the WB Yeats Foundation, and directed by University of Ulster guest professor James W Flannery.

This documentary will span more than four centuries, chronicling the history of the people known n America as the “Scotch Irish” or “Scots Irish”.  The story will follow them from their roots in Lowland Scotland through their troublesome history in the north of Ireland and their profoundly important presence in America.  The programme is intended for broadcast on American, Canadian, United Kingdom and Irish television.  It will be formatted in two one-hour segments, which can be aired separately or back-to-back. 

The programme will chronicle the largely neglected story of the Ulster Scots in America.  This ethnic group was seminal to the colonization of America, victory in the Revolutionary War, the settlement of the Southern and Western Frontiers, the establishment of the Presbyterian Church, the spread of public education and much of bedrock American culture. 

This grant enabled Redwine Productions to complete the planning and scripting phase of the project with proper and thorough Ulster related research.  Besides covering consultants’ honoraria, office expenses, and some stipend for the writer-producers, the grant made research missions possible by Tony McAuley in Ulster; a four-state research tour by Chris Moser in September 2001; and attendance by Chris Mosher and Tony McAuley at the Ulster American Heritage Symposium in Rock Hill, South Carolina in June 2002.

Having this script put the production company in a healthy position to begin pursuing production funding for the project.  Once completed and exposed to audiences in North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, this programme should heighten the public’s understanding of Ulster Scots history.  It should stimulate interest in and support for the tremendous work many scholars are now undertaking in this field.