Ullans, or Ulster-Scots

An Ulster-Scots dictionary

Front cover of the Ulster-Scots dictionary composed and published by the youth group of St Johnston and Carrigans, Co. Donegal and the County Library's Taobh Tire project

St Johnston & Carrigans youth project and Taobh Tire

An Ulster-Scots dictionary
St Johnston & Carrigans youth project and Taobh Tire

An Ulster-Scots dictionary

Front cover of the Ulster-Scots dictionary composed and published by the youth group of St Johnston and Carrigans, Co. Donegal and the County Library's Taobh Tire project

St Johnston & Carrigans youth project and Taobh Tire

Enlarge image

Members of the Donegal Ulster-Scots project team

These are the young people who collected and published a dictionary of Ulster-Scots words as used in their locality. They are from the Laggan towns of St Johnston and Carrigans, Co Donegal. They were assisted in their project by Donegal County Library's Taobh Tire staff, and local Ulster-Scots specialist Ian McCracken.

St Johnston & Carrigans youth project. Taobh Tire project of Donegal Co Library

Members of the Donegal Ulster-Scots project team
St Johnston & Carrigans youth project. Taobh Tire project of Donegal Co Library

Members of the Donegal Ulster-Scots project team

These are the young people who collected and published a dictionary of Ulster-Scots words as used in their locality. They are from the Laggan towns of St Johnston and Carrigans, Co Donegal. They were assisted in their project by Donegal County Library's Taobh Tire staff, and local Ulster-Scots specialist Ian McCracken.

St Johnston & Carrigans youth project. Taobh Tire project of Donegal Co Library

Enlarge image

What distinguished the Ulster plantation from other 17th century plantations of Ireland was the addition of Scottish settlers. This was due to James VI of Scotland becoming James I of England and Ireland.

Without this union in 1603, Scots , as foreigners, would not have been allowed into Ireland. However, due to the nearness of the two countries, most Scots had been for many years crossing into Antrim and Down, which were not included in the official plantation scheme.

The settlers brought with them their religion, customs, farming practices, and most of all, their speech. They spoke Scots, a Germanic language closely related to English; this mixed with the local language led to the birth of Ullans, or what is referred to today as Ulster-Scots.

The accent in the northern counties of Ulster is defined by its Scots accent and vocabulary. Many people from this region visiting other parts of the English speaking world are often mistaken as being from Scotland.

While broad Ulster-Scots is only spoken in rural communities, especially in Donegal's Laggan district, everyone in Ulster uses some of its words and phrases in everyday speech (example: the word "wee" is used to mean many things, from a term of endearment, to a description of small size).

There are presently strong efforts being made to revive this language, driven more recently by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. One of the agreements states that Ulster Scots "is part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland." This led to the establishment of the Ulster-Scots Agency.

In 2005, the Taobh Tire project of Donegal County Library services collaborated with the young people of the Laggan area (St Johnston and Carrigans) in researching and collating an Ulster-Scots dictionary.

These youngsters had expressed a pride in the vocabulary and accents of their hometowns, and concentrated in collecting words still in use in their own locality today. Their booklet "What do you think of the way we talk?" is the result of their work.