Dear Jack, thanks for your comments of agreement - why aren't the respective governments promoting Scots/Ulster history and heritage instead of trying to invent a language. Indeed there would be more merit in promoting Scots Gaelic in Donegal as there is still such so much migration between Scotland and Donegal and the languages are so similar. I would like to see some money put into researching the history of the Scots in Ulster and in Donegal in particular as I receive so many genealogical enquiries and yet the records are so few regarding the various estates and social history of how people actually mixed and married from the 17th century down. Indeed building and farming methods which came from Scotland to West Ulster are barely recorded. Granted there are Scots words in common use in Ulster, like 'oxter' (underarm) but a language? Songs and music deserve funding as so many of the fiddle tunes; dances and songs which came from Scotland are still sung and played today yet groups like the Inishowen traditional singers or South Donegal fiddlers receive no funding and the tradition is dependant on individuals giving their time to keep these traditions going. Regards, Patricia Sharkey Dun-na-nGall.com

Patricia, You make some very valid and commendable points regarding how best to preserve the remnants of our very genuine culture. Your ideas are unlike those whose concepts seem to originate from their oxters. You're welcome, Jack ----- Original Message ----- From: "Searc.ie" <info@searc.ie> To: "Jack McCorkell" <JackMcCorkell@prodigy.net> Cc: <DONEGALEIRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 3:25 PM Subject: Re: [DONEGALEIRE] Wir efter a Ulster-Scots boadie! > Dear Jack, > thanks for your comments of agreement - why aren't the respective > governments promoting Scots/Ulster history and heritage instead of trying to > invent a language. Indeed there would be more merit in promoting Scots > Gaelic in Donegal as there is still such so much migration between Scotland > and Donegal and the languages are so similar. I would like to see some money > put into researching the history of the Scots in Ulster and in Donegal in > particular as I receive so many genealogical enquiries and yet the records > are so few regarding the various estates and social history of how people > actually mixed and married from the 17th century down. Indeed building and > farming methods which came from Scotland to West Ulster are barely > recorded. Granted there are Scots words in common use in Ulster, like > 'oxter' (underarm) but a language? > Songs and music deserve funding as so many of the fiddle tunes; dances and > songs which came from Scotland are still sung and played today yet groups > like the Inishowen traditional singers or South Donegal fiddlers receive no > funding and the tradition is dependant on individuals giving their time to > keep these traditions going. > Regards, Patricia Sharkey > Dun-na-nGall.com > >