Culture Minister disappointed talks are Scots free

The talks began last Wednesday and are billed by Derry City Council as an exploration of different aspects of the shared cultural heritage in the North West covering a range of interconnected themes including language, oral traditions, place-names, folklore, music and history.

Last week a talk on the history and origins of the county's placenames was given by Pat McKay, placenames researcher with the Northern Ireland Placenames Project at Queen's University Belfast's and author of A Dictionary of Ulster Placenames.

And the series continued this Wednesday evening (February 10) with a lecture on "English as it is spoken in Ireland." Two more talks will conclude the series. "The Ulster Protestant Gaelic Tradition" next week and "Our Shared Musical Heritage" the week following.

But Mr McCausland is unhappy with the focus of the series which he stated was exclusively with the Irish language.

Given the Ulster-Scots Agency is a co-funder Mr McCausland argued the strong Ulster-Scots tradition in Londonderry and East Donegal should also feature.

Writing in his personal blog Nelson's View - The Minister's Pen, Mr McCausland argues: "There are some placenames of Ulster-Scots origin but the emphasis in the series is almost entirely on the influence of the Irish language.

"It is therefore a lost opportunity, especially as Londonderry and East Donegal are part of the coastal crescent which formed the original Ulster-Scots heartland.

"The addition of a talk on the Ulster-Scots language would certainly have added to the inclusivity and the value of the series.

"The omission of a talk on Ulster-Scots and its influence on Ulster dialect was particularly disappointing as the series has been jointly funded by Derry City Council, Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency."

All talks in the Shared Heritage series begin at 7.30pm and light refreshments will be served. All talks in the series take place in the Guildhall and offered free of charge but please register your interest in attending by contacting: Pl Frighil, Irish Language Officer, Derry City Council, 98 Strand Road, Londonderry BT48 7NN, T: (028) 71365 151 or email: [email protected]