0:00:02 > 0:00:05As you probably know, people in Northern Ireland tend to take
0:00:05 > 0:00:07the issue of identity quite seriously.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10When I say quite seriously, I mean very, I mean extremely,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12I mean INCREDIBLY seriously.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14In fact, they take the issue of identity so seriously,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16sometimes it's not funny.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19The two main identities in Northern Ireland
0:00:19 > 0:00:20are, of course, British or Irish -
0:00:20 > 0:00:24identities firmly, sometimes aggressively, held.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Identity is defined at birth and maintained by religion and politics.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31In Northern Ireland, the question, "What are ye?"
0:00:31 > 0:00:34is not an innocent question about your career path
0:00:34 > 0:00:35or indeed your sexuality.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38It is, instead, the query that enables us
0:00:38 > 0:00:40to define each other completely.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42And even if you don't want to take part in this game,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45others will insist on doing it for you.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48You play golf?
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Do you play British or Irish golf?
0:00:51 > 0:00:56Being from Northern Ireland, you have a connection to both.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59You've a connection to Ireland, you've a connection to the UK.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06Whatever decision I make, it's whether that's, you know,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09play for Ireland, play for Britain - not play at all, maybe,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11just because I don't want to upset too many people.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18Honestly, if he didn't earn 31 grand a day from his sponsors alone,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20you'd almost feel sorry for him.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Maybe identity is not black and white - maybe it's more complicated.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Perhaps we need to dig deeper to find out who we really are.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30I know all about British and Irish identities
0:01:30 > 0:01:32because, well, they're on the news quite a lot.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35I want to find out about an identity
0:01:35 > 0:01:38about which I know virtually nothing - Ulster Scots.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41You see, I have a theory - Ulster Scots is perceived
0:01:41 > 0:01:44as belonging to just one side of the community,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46and my theory is that most of the perceptions we have
0:01:46 > 0:01:49in Northern Ireland are completely wrong.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52So, I want to find out if there's anything in this Ulster Scots thing
0:01:52 > 0:01:55for me - Tim McGarry, lapsed papist.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58So, I'm going on a journey.
0:01:58 > 0:01:59Why? Well, it's television.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02If you bake a bun or dance on ice for two minutes,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04you have to go on a journey.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07I'll be taking a look at the close historical links
0:02:07 > 0:02:08between Ulster and Scotland.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11I'll dip a toe into the Ulster Scots language.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13And I'll research my own family roots
0:02:13 > 0:02:15to find out if there's any Ulster Scots in me.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35This is Torr Head and over there is Scotland.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38On a good day, you can see them eating porridge
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and deep-frying their Mars bars.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Now, you can't see England from any part of Ireland,
0:02:42 > 0:02:47but you CAN see Scotland and, if we can see them, they can see us.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51For many centuries, long before the first plantation in the 1600s,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54there was a very close connection between Ulster and Scotland.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Indeed, it is believed that the very first settlers
0:02:57 > 0:03:00who ever came to Ireland came via Scotland
0:03:00 > 0:03:02during the Mesolithic period during the ice age.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05They came via the landmass caused by the ice
0:03:05 > 0:03:08and settled in Ireland around about 8000 BC.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11And where did they first decide to settle?
0:03:11 > 0:03:12Where else would you go...
0:03:12 > 0:03:14but Larne?
0:03:15 > 0:03:17I'm not going to slag off Larne.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18I like Larne.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21One year, I actually switched on the Christmas tree lights.
0:03:21 > 0:03:22Well, I say lights...
0:03:22 > 0:03:26But why did the first settlers to come here head straight to Larne?
0:03:26 > 0:03:30People came because it had a good natural resource of flint.
0:03:30 > 0:03:31What is so important about flint?
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Flint is a really important piece of stone
0:03:33 > 0:03:35that can be used to make tools.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38An essential bit of tool, a knife or a blade. A knife?
0:03:38 > 0:03:41For slicing things. You could slice your bread with that!
0:03:41 > 0:03:42Yeah, it feels quite sharp still.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44It is. It's quite tough, isn't it? It is.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Cos they didn't have steel in those days. No.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48It was called the Stone Age cos everything was made of stone.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50And this gave a name to a type of stone?
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Is Larnian...? The age is Larnian. The age. Yeah, so a period of time.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Larne, you've got a whole age named after you - what more do you want?
0:04:00 > 0:04:02We don't know much about pre-Christian Ireland
0:04:02 > 0:04:05because, well, people didn't write much down in those days,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07and the Romans, who did write stuff down,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09didn't want anything to do with us.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Ireland was the only part of Western Europe
0:04:11 > 0:04:14that the Romans didn't invade and occupy,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17though they did give Ireland its ancient name, Hibernia,
0:04:17 > 0:04:18land of winter,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21which suggests that the Romans did make it here,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25but made the mistake of landing in Portrush in July.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26In the first century AD,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30the Roman commander Agricola contemplated invading Ireland.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32He probably looked out from over there and went,
0:04:32 > 0:04:33"I can take this place."
0:04:33 > 0:04:36In fact, he calculated it would only take one legion to conquer Ireland.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40But then, for some reason, he thought better of it.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42I reckon he probably looked over and saw us fighting over a flag
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and said, "No, tell you what, just leave it."
0:04:50 > 0:04:52There's never been a series of Who Do You Think You Are?
0:04:52 > 0:04:55done in Northern Ireland. That's because here it would have to be...
0:04:55 > 0:04:58IN BELFAST ACCENT: Who Do Ye Think Ye Are?
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Or else, Think Ye Are Something, Do Ye?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Yes, that's the typical Northern Ireland sceptical attitude.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07But it is always worthwhile looking into your family roots.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08You never know what you'll find.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11And if you do want to research your family background,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14the place you have to go is the Ulster Historical Foundation.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18And that's where I'm going right now.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Well, five minutes' time.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21Ten minutes, tops.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31So, Tim McGarry's Ulster Scots Journey -
0:05:31 > 0:05:33could I, Tim McGarry, be an Ulster Scot?
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Well, I know I have a lot of relatives up in Rasharkin
0:05:36 > 0:05:37and they sound like Ulster Scots.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41But I've come to the Ulster Historical Foundation and Gillian's
0:05:41 > 0:05:45very kindly helping to look into my roots to see how far I go back.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Now, the only relations I really know
0:05:47 > 0:05:49go back as far as my great-grandfather,
0:05:49 > 0:05:50who came from Rasharkin.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53I think you've told me that his name is Patrick McGarry. Mm.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56That's about as much as I know. Have you found anything else?
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Yes, we've found Patrick and his wife and family
0:05:59 > 0:06:02living in Rasharkin 100 years ago
0:06:02 > 0:06:05in the 1901 and 1911 census.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08So, they were both schoolteachers at that stage. Schoolteachers?!
0:06:08 > 0:06:09Oh, how boring.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Nothing more exciting? Well, we'll see!
0:06:12 > 0:06:14They were both living in Rasharkin at that stage,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17but the census tells us that actually Patrick's wife Mary
0:06:17 > 0:06:20came from County Down. And that would have been quite common -
0:06:20 > 0:06:21if you were a schoolteacher,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23you did move about the country quite a lot for work.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26And then we were able to find a copy of their marriage record.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28So, what was her maiden name?
0:06:28 > 0:06:32So, she was Mary Anne Clelland when she married in 1888.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Is Clelland a significant name in any way? It's a Scottish name.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37So, we've only gone back a few generations
0:06:37 > 0:06:39and it looks like I could have Ulster Scots roots,
0:06:39 > 0:06:40or Ulster Scots connections.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Thank God for that, otherwise the programme would've been ruined.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47We started looking for any Mary Anne Clellands we could find
0:06:47 > 0:06:50whose father was called James in that period in County Down.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54We knew she was 22 when she married in 1888,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57so we knew she was born around 1866.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00We found this birth certificate.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06So, this is Mary Anne, and she's born on 18th November 1865,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08in Nuns Quarter, a townland called Nuns Quarter.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Nuns Quarter? How ironic.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12She was very Catholic, a very religious woman!
0:07:12 > 0:07:13Nuns Quarter is where?
0:07:13 > 0:07:17It's on the Ards Peninsula, just north of Kircubbin.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21You've Nuns Quarter and beside it, Inishargy.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25So, my great-great-grandmother came from here, Nuns Quarter.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Now, I'm not sure if she came from downtown Nuns Quarter or
0:07:28 > 0:07:29the lower east side of Nuns Quarter.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32You know, the bad side of town.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Well, I say town...
0:07:37 > 0:07:39So, after the Romans decided not to invade Ireland,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42the Irish decided to invade bits of Scotland.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45In fact, that is where the name Scotland comes from.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Scoti was the name Roman writers gave to Irish raiders and bandits
0:07:48 > 0:07:52who attacked Roman Britain, and the name stuck.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55So, Scotland was named after a bunch of Irish people.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58For centuries, there's been a very close connection
0:07:58 > 0:07:59between Scotland and Ulster.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02For hundreds and hundreds of years, there'd been invasion,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05counter invasion, raids, immigration, emigration
0:08:05 > 0:08:07intermarriage, settlements.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11One man has a theory about one emigrant from Scotland to Ireland.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14There are a number of ancient churches in Scotland
0:08:14 > 0:08:17which claim to have been founded by Patrick.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20So, St Patrick came from Scotland to Donaghadee?
0:08:20 > 0:08:22I know some folk in Donaghadee today
0:08:22 > 0:08:24who could take you down there at low tide
0:08:24 > 0:08:28and show you a rock which, tradition claims,
0:08:28 > 0:08:33bears the marks of his feet and also of his horses' hooves.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Forget New York, we could have the massive St Patrick's Day parade
0:08:36 > 0:08:37here in Donaghadee.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Why not? I think that would work.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44St Patrick, Scottish? Pah.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I suppose it could have been worse - he could have been English.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Of course, the influence of St Patrick can't be underestimated.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Within a few decades, all of Ireland had been converted to Christianity
0:08:53 > 0:08:56and shortly afterwards, monasteries and abbeys were founded
0:08:56 > 0:08:57all over the country
0:08:57 > 0:09:00and became centres of great learning in Dark Ages Europe.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Did you know that Bangor Abbey, for instance,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05was known as The Light of the World?
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And, yes, I do mean Pickie Pool, gravy-chip Bangor.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13And then there's this famous abbey at Nendrum, just outside Comber.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15It's a fine example of what these abbeys and monasteries
0:09:15 > 0:09:16would have looked like.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Nendrum has the oldest tide mill in the world.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24And it also has this - a very famous sundial,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28which the monks were able to use once, sometimes twice a year.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41So, we gave the Scots their name and they gave us St Patrick.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42But that's not all.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Because it is accepted that the very first King of Scotland
0:09:45 > 0:09:48was a man by the name of Fergus Mor, or Fergus the Great.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50And where was he from?
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Here - County Antrim, Dunseverick,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55just a couple of miles down from the Giant's Causeway.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56And in the fifth century AD,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Fergus the Great led an expedition to Scotland to Kintyre and Argyll,
0:10:00 > 0:10:05and there he set up the great Scottish kingdom of Dalriada.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08King Fergus was crowned the king of a joint kingdom
0:10:08 > 0:10:10in the early sixth century.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13He goes across from Dunseverick, he goes to Dun Athad,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15he takes some of his family with him,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17he probably takes some retainers with him,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19but what he doesn't take with him is an army -
0:10:19 > 0:10:21so he's not going to conquer territory.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24He's going to regularise a settlement that's already there, obviously.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Nowadays, all kings and queens of Scotland
0:10:27 > 0:10:30have to claim some descent from Fergus the Great.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31Yes, that's right, folks.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Queen Elizabeth II has a little bit - not very much, to be honest -
0:10:35 > 0:10:37but a little bit of County Antrim in her.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43According to an old Scots chronicle,
0:10:43 > 0:10:48in the year 503 AD, King Fergus had a skin problem.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Well, they just didn't moisturise in those days!
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Mind you, there isn't a cleanser in the world
0:10:53 > 0:10:55that can save you from leprosy.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57So in order to cure his leprosy,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00King Fergus decided to visit a very famous healing well.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Sadly, the cure didn't work...
0:11:02 > 0:11:04partly because he didn't get there,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07when his ship hit a rock and he drowned.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08Mind you, it wasn't just any old rock.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12It was the rock upon which Carrickfergus Castle now stands.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Indeed, Fergus's death gives its name to this very place.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18It is the carraig, or rock, of Fergus.
0:11:18 > 0:11:19Carrickfergus.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Ladies and gentlemen, this is a television exclusive
0:11:29 > 0:11:31to the Tim McGarry Ulster Scots Journey.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32For the first time ever,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36we are filming the grave of Fergus Mor, the first king of Scotland.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Yes, his last resting place is around here in a farmer's field
0:11:40 > 0:11:42just outside Monkstown.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45For centuries, Irish and Scots pilgrims came here
0:11:45 > 0:11:49to Monkstown Abbey to pay their last respects to the great Fergus Mor.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51But as you know, times change,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and the building - well, it's a wee bit neglected now.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57So, if Her Majesty the Queen is watching,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59and I see no reason why she wouldn't be
0:11:59 > 0:12:03once the horse racing's over - Liz, your ancestor is buried round here.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Please, give us a few quid - we'll put a sign up, tidy the place up.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13So, the kingdom of Dalriada
0:12:13 > 0:12:15could afford to be pretty smug about itself.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18In the sixth and seventh centuries, the kingdom covered Antrim,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Down and most of the West of Scotland.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23And why was it so successful?
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Well, because of the quick and easy sea transport.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Of course, there's always a downside.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30And the downside to quick and easy sea transport was -
0:12:30 > 0:12:32well, the Vikings.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Now, the Vikings don't have a great image.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36They're always seen as marauders and pillagers,
0:12:36 > 0:12:37only interested in plunder -
0:12:37 > 0:12:39a bit like modern day bankers.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42So, when they came to Ireland, well, they did destroy a bit.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45They destroyed Bangor, and the monastery here at Nendrum.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48I mean, just look what they did to that round tower there.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51The Vikings spelled the end of Dalriada
0:12:51 > 0:12:54but like all invaders, they liked the look of the place,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57so they intermingled with the Irish, intermarried and settled.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58So did the next lot, but who were they?
0:12:58 > 0:13:01MUSIC: "Swords Of The Thousand Men" by Tenpole Tudor
0:13:01 > 0:13:05The next invaders of Ireland didn't come via Scotland.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06They were the Normans.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The Normans first arrived in Ireland in the year 1169
0:13:09 > 0:13:11after they were invited in.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Sure, you know what it is like - invite somebody into your house,
0:13:14 > 0:13:15they never go home.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19The Normans first landed in southern Ireland but one band of them,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23led by John de Courcy, headed north to see what was available.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27# Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, yeah
0:13:27 > 0:13:30# Over the hills came the swords of a thousand men... #
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Actually, he didn't have a thousand men, he only had a few dozen,
0:13:35 > 0:13:36but that was enough to take Ulster.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38And to prove he was not a man to be messed with,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41he built this - Carrickfergus Castle.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Nothing like that had ever been seen at the time.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46The walls are 90 feet high,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48they are three to four feet thick.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49It's a statement of power,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51a statement of status,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53a statement that the Normans are here to come.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Carrickfergus was the centre of the area
0:13:55 > 0:13:59that the Normans conquered in Ulster.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01It looked like the Normans were going to be able to conquer
0:14:01 > 0:14:04all of Ireland fairly easily, but one thing stood in their way.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07What was it? You've guessed it, the Scots.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Have you seen the film Braveheart?
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Mel Gibson as William Wallace,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22leading the first Scottish rebellion against the English.
0:14:22 > 0:14:48I really like it. One reviewer didn't like it.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51the very famous Robert the Bruce.
0:14:51 > 0:14:58And when Robert the Bruce fought the English, he had his ups and downs.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and where did he end up?
0:15:01 > 0:15:14We all know the story of the cave and the spider.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Just across the narrow water in Ulster was an English garrison,
0:15:19 > 0:15:27so Robert the Bruce sent his brother Edward over to deal with them.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30who had fought at Bannockburn and then put Carrickfergus,
0:15:30 > 0:15:37which was the main castle in Ulster, under siege in September 1315.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41In the summer of 1316, it looked like the garrison was going to surrender
0:15:41 > 0:15:44and 30 Scottish soldiers came to take the surrender of the castle.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46And, instead, the garrison grabbed them,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49closed the gates again and said they were going to fight on.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53And it is said that as the food ran out and as the water ran out,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56they actually ate their 30 Scottish prisoners.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Now, whether that is fact or legend, we don't know.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Edward Bruce was eventually defeated in the year 1318
0:16:03 > 0:16:05in a battle outside Dundalk.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06They say his body
0:16:06 > 0:16:07is buried in a church there.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08Well, bits of it may be,
0:16:08 > 0:16:09because he was beheaded
0:16:09 > 0:16:12and bits of him were sent to the four corners of Ireland.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16But the effect of Bruce's invasion of Ireland cannot be overestimated.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18After that, British rule in Ireland was shattered.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20And it would take a long, long time
0:16:20 > 0:16:23before they ever dominated Ireland again.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26MUSIC: "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Dunluce Castle - famous for being on the cover of a Led Zeppelin album.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Ask your da, he'll explain it to you. Where were we?
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Ah, yes - the Scots saved the Irish from the English -
0:16:46 > 0:16:47for a bit.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Now, despite what Mel Gibson says, I'm afraid it's not true -
0:16:50 > 0:16:53not all Scots were on the side of Robert the Bruce,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55some of them lined up with the English.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59And Bruce wanted a word with them,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02and they didn't fancy having a word with him
0:17:02 > 0:17:04so they fled to the Glens of Antrim.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06The MacDonnells are probably the most famous family.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10They seized lands in the Glens and their capital was Dunluce.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14The problem with the MacDonnells
0:17:14 > 0:17:16was that they were Scottish and Catholic,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18which didn't please Queen Elizabeth I,
0:17:18 > 0:17:19who was Protestant and English
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and who saw this place and everyone in it as an affront to her kingdom.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30So when an English expedition, including Sir Francis Drake,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33massacred a lot of MacDonnells, including women and children,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37on Rathlin Island here, the Queen was very pleased.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Even more pleased was the Earl of Essex,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42who reported delightedly that they had killed over 600 people -
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and even better, according to him,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Sorley Boy MacDonnell had to watch the massacre
0:17:48 > 0:17:50helplessly from the coast,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52perhaps even here, where I am standing.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Essex reported that Sorley Boy must have been...
0:18:01 > 0:18:04The Queen was so pleased that she told the executioner she would...
0:18:08 > 0:18:09Probably gave him an OBE.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22And then we found that her mum's mother's name was Jane McClelland.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24And he was an assistant farmer -
0:18:24 > 0:18:27so it all ties in with the information we have
0:18:27 > 0:18:28from her marriage. An assistant farmer?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31An assistant farmer, yes. A farmer with an assistant?!
0:18:31 > 0:18:34I have never heard of an assistant farmer. That's fine, OK.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Is there anything else significant about this?
0:18:36 > 0:18:39The only thing is that his residence was different
0:18:39 > 0:18:42to where the child was born. And then we looked a little bit more
0:18:42 > 0:18:45to try and find the marriage record of her parents,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48and we did not find any marriage record for that couple.
0:18:48 > 0:18:49Whoa, whoa, whoa!
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Are you saying my great-great-grandfather
0:18:52 > 0:18:54and my great-great-grandmother weren't married?
0:18:54 > 0:18:59It certainly looks that way, yes. Really?!
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Excuse me, my great-grandmother was a very highly respected woman
0:19:03 > 0:19:05in Rasharkin, and a schoolteacher. She was indeed.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08But she was actually (illegitimate)? Yes, it would appear so.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13We find a marriage record in 1869 for a James Clelland from Inishargy,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15a farmer, marrying a Margaret Holland
0:19:15 > 0:19:18in Ballywalter Second Presbyterian Church.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20So he didn't even have the decency to marry her?!
0:19:20 > 0:19:22So...
0:19:22 > 0:19:25My great-great-grandmother, possibly illegitimate,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28and the father...didn't marry her?
0:19:28 > 0:19:30He married someone else? No, he...
0:19:30 > 0:19:33It appears that he then married someone else a few years later
0:19:33 > 0:19:35and then the mother, Jane McClelland,
0:19:35 > 0:19:40she marries in 1873 in Greyabbey Roman Catholic Church.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Right... Hold on.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Again, he got married in a Presbyterian church?
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Yes. But she's Catholic?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Well, she married in a Roman Catholic Church,
0:19:50 > 0:19:51so it would appear that she was.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53This is cross-community smut!
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I'm actually genuinely surprised about the revelations
0:19:57 > 0:19:59about my great-great-grandmother and father
0:19:59 > 0:20:01and I'm a little bit pleased, to be honest.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Yes, I am at least a bit Ulster Scot, and a wee bit cross-community.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10I could probably get my own EU peace grant just for myself.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14And, yes, my great-great-grandmother went a few miles up the road
0:20:14 > 0:20:15to get a man. She didn't go very far -
0:20:15 > 0:20:18But to be fair, though, she was very brave.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23To have an illegitimate child and not get married in 1865?
0:20:23 > 0:20:26She must have been the talk of the town.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Well, I say town...
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Chichester Street. Named after Arthur Chichester.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Well, "Who the hell is he,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43"and why does he have a street named after him?" I hear you ask.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Well, he was a favourite general of Queen Elizabeth I.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50The Queen was determined to conquer all of Ireland
0:20:50 > 0:20:52but Ulster held out against her.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58In 1594, the famous Gaelic chieftain Hugh O'Neill rose up in rebellion,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00starting what was known as the Nine Years War.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03The war ended in defeat for the Gaelic chieftains
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and, as a reward to Arthur Chichester,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07the Queen gave him a castle
0:21:07 > 0:21:11and ownership of what we now know as Belfast.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14So, Arthur naturally started to name streets after himself.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Well, you would, wouldn't you? So, this is Chichester Street.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19HORNS HONK
0:21:19 > 0:21:21It didn't have as many bus lanes in them days.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Arthur Chichester would have been one of the most important people
0:21:26 > 0:21:28at the end of the 16th and early 17th century.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30There's a bloke kneeling at the bottom. Who is that guy?
0:21:30 > 0:21:32That's Sir John Chichester,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and he was governor of Carrickfergus in the late 1590s.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38He is Arthur's big brother? Arthur's big brother.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40John Chichester had a parley with James McDonnell,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43but instead of bringing small numbers and sitting down
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and talking sensibly, both brought hundreds of men
0:21:46 > 0:21:48and a battle broke out. John Chichester was killed,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50he was decapitated,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53and it is said that his head was put in a barrel of salt
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and brought down to Dungannon, where Hugh O'Neill's base was
0:21:56 > 0:21:59and that the Irish played football with his head around the camp.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01That's not nice! So, Arthur was very annoyed about that?
0:22:01 > 0:22:04He did bear a grudge - and a year and a bit after John was killed
0:22:04 > 0:22:07he became governor of Carrickfergus himself, in 1599.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09He was one of Elizabeth's top generals,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12fighting the O'Neills and the MacDonnells as well.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17The MacDonnells managed to survive,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21and when King James came to the throne, they curried favour with him
0:22:21 > 0:22:24by settling more lowland Scots here in the Glens of Antrim.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Indeed, Ulster was the last place in Ireland
0:22:27 > 0:22:29to resist the English conquest.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32The last hooray for the Gaelic chiefs was the Battle of Kinsale
0:22:32 > 0:22:38in 1601 and then, of course, the famous Flight of the Earls of 1607.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Now, many people think that the first major migration
0:22:41 > 0:22:44of Scots into Ulster occurred with the Great Plantation.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46But, as we have seen, Scots have been coming to Ulster
0:22:46 > 0:22:48for hundreds and hundreds of years -
0:22:48 > 0:22:50and, indeed, before the Great Plantation
0:22:50 > 0:22:53there was one other major migration of lowland Scots into Ulster.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59That occurred in 1606, and it all began with a jailbreak
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and some cheese.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12The man who escaped was called Conn O'Neill.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Who he? I hear you cry.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Well, Conn was the head of the Clandeboye O'Neills,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21the Gaelic chieftain who owned South Antrim and most of North Down.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23For years, the English crown had been trying
0:23:23 > 0:23:25to relieve Conn of his lands.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29And in the year 1602 they got their chance.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32What happened was Conn threw a Christmas party.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Nothing unusual there, I hear you say.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Indeed, by all accounts, it was a jolly good party.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41According to one contemporary record, it was a grand debauch -
0:23:41 > 0:23:48a kind of 17th-century bunga bunga party, but then disaster struck.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51What's the worst thing that could happen at an Irish party?
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Yep. The drink ran out.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Well, Conn did what any reasonable Irish person would do.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00He sent some of his men to rob the nearest wine store
0:24:00 > 0:24:02in the nearby village of Belfast.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Unfortunately, on their way, his men encountered some English troops.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09A fight ensued, one of the troops was killed.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10Conn was immediately arrested
0:24:10 > 0:24:14and charged with levying war on the Queen's soldiers.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16High treason.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Of course, nowadays, high treason has a penalty
0:24:18 > 0:24:21of, well, 100 hours community service.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24But in those days, the penalty was death.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Arthur Chichester, the Lord Deputy of Ireland,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32very kindly offered to execute Conn
0:24:32 > 0:24:34without the necessity of a trial or anything.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36He was hoping to seize some of Conn's lands.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Fortunately for Conn,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Queen Elizabeth I went and died
0:24:40 > 0:24:43without an heir, which meant the end of the Tudor line
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and the accession onto the throne of James I.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50And that was good news, because it gave Conn's wife an idea.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52She approached a man by the name of Hugh Montgomery
0:24:52 > 0:24:54and came with a deal.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57She said, "Spring my husband Conn out of jail,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59"get him a pardon from King James
0:24:59 > 0:25:02"and I will give you half of Conn O'Neill's lands in Ulster."
0:25:02 > 0:25:05There aren't many cheese-based prison escapes.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07I love a good prison escape. Normally it's digging tunnels,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09but there was a man by the name of Conn O'Neill
0:25:09 > 0:25:12managed to escape from prison in Carrickfergus Castle.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13What's the story behind that?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15His wife smuggled in ropes in two cheeses
0:25:15 > 0:25:20and with those ropes he was able to scale the walls of the castle
0:25:20 > 0:25:22and the Montgomerys whisked him off to Scotland.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27But another Ayrshire man, James Hamilton, got wind of the plan
0:25:27 > 0:25:29and he muscled in on the deal.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Hamilton was sent by the King of Scotland to Dublin.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35He set up a school in Dublin and become a founder of Trinity College,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38but used his position of influence
0:25:38 > 0:25:41to get access to the Royal correspondence.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43So all the mail that was going between Dublin
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and the Royal Court in London, Hamilton was getting access to.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So he was basically a spy and reading the stuff? He was.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52He was feeding information back to the King of Scotland,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55because the King of Scotland knew the Queen of England had no children
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and suspected he was next in line.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00So he was just gathering information and waiting for the day
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and Hamilton was his man.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06And when the king was asked to authorise the proposed deal
0:26:06 > 0:26:09between O'Neill and Montgomery, Hamilton's man intervened
0:26:09 > 0:26:11and said, "See all that land?
0:26:11 > 0:26:12"You can't divide that in two.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15"Divide it in three and give a third of it to Hamilton."
0:26:15 > 0:26:18The land that they took, what did they find when they got here?
0:26:18 > 0:26:23About 40 years previously, Elizabeth had sent English troops
0:26:23 > 0:26:28across to try to take County Down by force from the Clandeboye O'Neills.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31It didn't work - the O'Neills fought back and fought hard
0:26:31 > 0:26:35and in the course of that they burned all of the stone buildings.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37But who was physically here? Were people ejected?
0:26:37 > 0:26:38Did you steal my land?
0:26:38 > 0:26:40When the Scots arrived,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43there was, the records say, hardly any people here at all.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Hamilton's headquarters at Killylea seemed to prove to Montgomery
0:26:46 > 0:26:48that he'd been sold a pup,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51and Hamilton had ended up with all the best land.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55Tensions between the two men led to Hamilton hiring a map-maker,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Thomas Raven, to set out exactly who owned what.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01The beautifully illustrated Raven maps survive today
0:27:01 > 0:27:03and can be seen in North Down Museum.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Montgomery and Hamilton didn't get on very well, is that right?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09They loathed one another.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13So this map is a way of just determining who owned what land
0:27:13 > 0:27:14and where those boundaries were.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19We are looking here at a map of... it says East Holywood.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23We have somewhere called Balle Derre. We have Knocknagoney up here.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25For some reason the Tesco isn't there, but I don't know why.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27But if you look at Holywood, East Holywood,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30we have what looks to me like the Maypole. It is, indeed.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33So the Maypole does actually date from the 1600s?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Yes, and possibly before this.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37It just means it was there when they drew this map.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39It doesn't tell us how long it was there beforehand.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42So, if I was to stick this book under my arm and run out there
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and bring it to the Antiques Roadshow,
0:27:45 > 0:27:46what sort of value would we get?
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Priceless. You couldn't put a value on it.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50But we wouldn't let you out the door anyway.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52You'd stop me, would you? Yeah, we'd jump on you.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55There's a fella over there who looks like he would stop me,
0:27:55 > 0:27:56but I'd give you a go!
0:27:57 > 0:28:00So, we've just romped through several thousand years of history
0:28:00 > 0:28:04and discovered how closely our past is linked to that of Scotland.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05And talking of romps,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08we've also learned that no matter how respectable
0:28:08 > 0:28:09you think your family is,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12there's always some dark secret out there to embarrass you.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Yes, my great-grandparents were teachers.
0:28:16 > 0:28:17The shame!
0:28:17 > 0:28:21I've also discovered Ulster Scots roots that I never knew I had,
0:28:21 > 0:28:22just four generations back.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24On the next programme, we'll be looking at the biggest
0:28:24 > 0:28:28and most controversial influx of Ulster Scots - the Plantation.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58OK, so, I'm just going to go in here and get myself all dolled up.
0:29:00 > 0:29:01'Presenting the forecasts
0:29:01 > 0:29:04'on BBC Newsline, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Foyle
0:29:04 > 0:29:05'is just part of what we do.'
0:29:05 > 0:29:07But whenever the weather becomes the news,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10I want to be there bringing you that story.