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‘Santer’ - New six-part Ulster-Scots series for...

02 November 2010

Santer is not about celebrity names, celebrity venues or headline stories. It’s a series about ordinary people who live here; their stories, their past and their passion for their heritage.

Hidden history, great music, American journeys, ghost stories, an Olympic champion from Dervock and a particularly touching story from World War 1 in Fermanagh, all go to make up BBC Northern Ireland’s new Ulster-Scots series, ‘Santer’, beginning on BBC Two Northern Ireland, Wednesday, November 3 at 7.30pm.

 

In the course of these six 30 minute programmes, Anne Morrison Smyth, a speaker of the “hamely tongue” visits every corner of Northern Ireland discovering the huge impact Ulster-Scots has on so many facets of all our lives.

 

Musician Mark Wilson travels The Old Wagon Road to experience the musical heritage left by the “Scotch-Irish” – which includes Bluegrass, Country and Gospel.

 

Producer Karl Walker of Blackthorn Productions explains: “It was a revelation making this series. It really brought it home to me just how the Ulster-Scots heritage and culture is part of us all. Everyone uses the language, everyone knows the music – we just didn’t know it was Ulster-Scots!

 

“However it’s the history which will fascinate the viewers. People in Northern Ireland love local history and this history is filled with heroes and vagabonds alike and most importantly, it’s filled with the tales

of ordinary people who left their native Scotland to come here. Then, many of those same people left here and went to America where their culture has left an imprint on so many of the United States.

 

Santer is not about celebrity names, celebrity venues or headline stories. It’s a series about ordinary people who live here; their stories, their past and their passion for their heritage. It’s also terrific fun!

 

‘Santer’ begins on BBC Two Northern Ireland Wednesday, 3rd November at 7.30pm.

 

Photo caption: Presenter Anne Morrison Smyth (left) with chef Paula McIntyre who cooked up an Ulster Scots dish for this local Waringstown Cricket team as part of a new Ulster Scots series ‘Santer’.