Irish and Ulster-Scots Culture - new statistics published

The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) has just published studies which guage the experience of Irish culture/heritage and Ulster-Scots culture/heritage by adults in Northern Ireland.

Key findings in relation to experience of Irish culture and heritage by adults in Northern Ireland during 2012/13 were:

16% of adults participated in Irish cultural activities and 21% attended Irish cultural events, resulting in 23% of adults having engaged with Irish culture and heritage during the last year.

40% of Catholic adults and 10% of Protestant adults had engaged with Irish culture and heritage during the previous year.

28% of adults living in the most deprived areas had engaged with Irish culture and heritage compared with 17% of those living in the least deprived areas.

A festival celebrating Irish’ was the most frequently cited Irish cultural activity participated in (9%) and also the most frequently cited Irish cultural event attended (9%).

21% of adults had a lot of understanding about Irish culture and traditions, while 15% had none at all.

45% of adults had a lot of respect for Irish culture and traditions, while 7% had none at all.

Key findings in relation to experience of Ulster-Scots culture and heritage by adults in Northern Ireland during 2012/13:

7% of adults participated in Ulster-Scots cultural activities and 12% attended Ulster-Scots cultural events, resulting in 13% of adults having engaged with Ulster-Scots culture and heritage during the last year.

22% of Protestant adults and 4% of Catholic adults had engaged with Ulster-Scots culture and heritage during the previous year.

Similar proportions of adults living in the most deprived and least deprived areas had engaged with Ulster-Scots culture and heritage (12% and 14% respectively).

‘A festival celebrating Ulster-Scots’ was the most frequently cited Ulster-Scots cultural activity participated in (4%), while a parade was the most frequently cited Ulster-Scots cultural event attended (8%).

8% of adults had a lot of understanding about Ulster-Scots culture and traditions, while 28% had none at all.

35% of adults had a lot of respect for Ulster-Scots culture and traditions, while 12% had none at all.