0:00:02 > 0:00:05Hello, welcome to The Gaitherin and we're heading to the heart of East Belfast.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Today we're under the shadow of Samson and Goliath.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Our young pipers, Zoe and Kyle - they're heading in the
0:00:11 > 0:00:12right direction.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14That's Scotland. Back there's Northern Ireland,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17- don't want to go there, right? - OK.- Scotland, it is.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Tim McGarry's language course takes him to the market.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23- Any chance of you buying me one? - Well, we'll see about that.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Typical Ulster-Scot.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27And we find where King Billy sat...
0:00:27 > 0:00:29and it's not on a horse.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31So that's the chair that King Billy used
0:00:31 > 0:00:32when he attended the service here.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36All that plus Dan Gordon, world champions and
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Ulster-Scots' inventions.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39Welcome to The Gaitherin.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Welcome to the Skainos Centre in East Belfast.
0:01:34 > 0:01:40What a wonderful display from our drum majors - champions one and all.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43And they were brought together specially by former world champion
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Brian Wilson for the Belfast Tattoo
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and that's one of the reasons why we are here.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53The Belfast Tattoo took place just down the road at the
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Odyssey Arena and this was one of the events -
0:01:55 > 0:01:59so, could we have a big round of applause for our drum majors?
0:01:59 > 0:02:01CHEERING
0:02:03 > 0:02:06What other Ulster-Scots links do we have with East Belfast?
0:02:06 > 0:02:09And there's no better person to ask about that than
0:02:09 > 0:02:11historian Jonathan Bardon.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13So, Jonathan, if you were to try and explain
0:02:13 > 0:02:16to us those links, where would you start?
0:02:16 > 0:02:20In 1605 the Lord of Clandeboye Conn O'Neill
0:02:20 > 0:02:22was forced to give up two thirds of his estates
0:02:22 > 0:02:26to Sir Hugh Montgomery and to Sir James Hamilton
0:02:26 > 0:02:30and they brought in tens of thousands of Scots to make the most
0:02:30 > 0:02:35successful British colonisation of the 17th century in North Down.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38But how did they start then to make a move
0:02:38 > 0:02:40into this part of the world? And what was it that
0:02:40 > 0:02:42- was driving that, Jonathan? - They kept coming -
0:02:42 > 0:02:47mostly to farm and sometimes to weave - in particular in the 1690s you
0:02:47 > 0:02:51have a great influx of about 80,000 Scots coming in.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54And then, as industry began to establish itself
0:02:54 > 0:02:58in East Belfast, it was then the township of Ballymacarrett,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02it didn't become part of Belfast until 1840.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04So, the Ulster-Scots had quite a strong community
0:03:04 > 0:03:08- in Ballymacarrett, then? - Yes, they had a strong, er,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12farming tradition there. They were farming on the
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Beer's Bridge Road planting oats as late as 1850.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19And, of course, there was a glasshouse built at the end
0:03:19 > 0:03:24of the long bridge, which connected Belfast with Ballymacarrett
0:03:24 > 0:03:28and there, er, they made all kinds of watch glasses
0:03:28 > 0:03:30and bottles and so on which were very successful.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33But you mentioned there the Industrial Revolution,
0:03:33 > 0:03:38that really drove migration, didn't it? Into this part of Belfast.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Yes, it was simply a rural place until the Industrial Revolution
0:03:42 > 0:03:45got going in the early 19th century, starting off with
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Catholic weavers who settled in Short Strand and then
0:03:48 > 0:03:52followed by foundry workers - most of them UlsterScots in
0:03:52 > 0:03:56- the Laggan Foundry. - And the shipyards have a big part
0:03:56 > 0:03:59in that story as they were developing.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Yes, in the 1840s the Victoria Channel was dug
0:04:02 > 0:04:05and the sleet or mud from there was dumped in East Belfast
0:04:05 > 0:04:07and became Queen's Island.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Here shipbuilding began in the 1850s -
0:04:11 > 0:04:15a 23-year-old from Scarborough getting things going, Edward Harland.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Alongside the shipyard there were lots of other industries developing.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Rope works, there was glass, well, of course, there was linen, we can't forget that
0:04:23 > 0:04:25and there were Ulster-Scots workers who
0:04:25 > 0:04:27came in to fill many of those jobs.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31They did. Earlier in the century they mostly came from Mid Ulster
0:04:31 > 0:04:35but in the later 19th century they mostly came from North Down,
0:04:35 > 0:04:40many of them Ulster-Scots and working in mills like the Owen O'Cork mills
0:04:40 > 0:04:45and the great rope works founded in the 1870s, and, of course,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48whiskey distilling was also very important.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51You have the Connswater Distillery producing two million
0:04:51 > 0:04:53gallons of whiskey a year.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Jonathan, thanks very much. Now, we've been following
0:04:56 > 0:05:00the fledgling piping career of young Kyle Sawyers and Zoe Somerville
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and they play with the Ulster-Scots Agency Juvenile Band
0:05:04 > 0:05:06and since we last saw them they have headed off to compete
0:05:06 > 0:05:10with the best of the best at the world championships, in Glasgow.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Kyle, Zoe, I'm delighted to finally meet yous.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15This is it, we're on our way to Scotland
0:05:15 > 0:05:17and this is the big one now, this is the world's.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20You've been practising for this one, haven't you?
0:05:20 > 0:05:22That's understating it, cos you've really been going for it,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24how much practice have you been doing for this?
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Been practising every day for about 15/20 minutes or so.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31- Every day in the run-up to this? - Yeah.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33So, tomorrow you've got to deliver, haven't you?
0:05:33 > 0:05:37You've got to do it - all the practice has to come together - it's all on tomorrow.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I've lined up something special for you, all right?
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Do you want to go somewhere a bit different?
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- Take your mind off tomorrow?- OK. - Excellent, let's go.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52- How cool is this? Eh? What? Are you impressed?- Yeah.- Yeah.- Brilliant.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Got to have a hat, get the hats on, guys, let me see.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Oh, very smart, very smart, very cool. Get the badge up -
0:05:58 > 0:06:01look at that, that's proper. Right, here's the good news -
0:06:01 > 0:06:05you're going to do all the steering, you're going to get us there, right? Here's a tip - I'm no expert,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08but that's Scotland. Back there's Northern Ireland.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10- Don't want to go there today, right?- OK.- Right?
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Scotland it is. You happy? BOTH: Yeah.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13Go for it...
0:06:19 > 0:06:22PIPE MUSIC
0:06:27 > 0:06:30OK, guys, blow up, play whatever you want.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Well, guys, this is it, Glasgow, the world's.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35This is the big moment. Any nerves today?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38I'm a bit nervous but, erm, it's kind of sunk in,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40the thought of it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44What do you hope happens when you go out there, what are you hoping for?
0:06:44 > 0:06:45Hopefully qualify.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- And get through to the next bit? - Yeah.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55This is huge, obviously, it's the world's so it's the pinnacle
0:06:55 > 0:06:58of piping but, in terms of scale, there's thousands of people here,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00that must add to the pressure for them.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03I would imagine 20/30,000 people will be at this event.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05The world's is so important for them, you can see a huge
0:07:05 > 0:07:07change in them the week before the world's
0:07:07 > 0:07:10because it is...they don't want to let themselves down.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13And today I couldn't have expected any more of them.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16You know, it wasn't great weather for the kids
0:07:16 > 0:07:18and they feel the cold a wee bit more than the adults.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20But they've done really, really well.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I wouldn't say I'm confident but I'm more confident than I was
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- this time last year.- Good, well, I think they did great anyway
0:07:29 > 0:07:32and I know you're a proud man today so we'll just wait and see, will we?
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Fingers crossed.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Step short, step short.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Well, guys, firstly congratulations - how do you think it went for you?
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Well, we played really, really well but it doesn't really matter
0:07:45 > 0:07:47if we get placed or not cos there's bands that have played for
0:07:47 > 0:07:50five years and some of us have only joined the band, so,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53as long as we've done well I'm really happy.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56What about the rain, Zoe? Cos it was quite heavy when you guys were on,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58did it make it hard for yous?
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Yeah, it made it tougher cos where I was standing the wind was just
0:08:02 > 0:08:05blowing and I thought my pipes were about to fall at some stages.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07- You frozen, were you?- Yeah. - Listen, good luck, guys,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10we wish you all the best, you've just got to wait and see
0:08:10 > 0:08:12what the judges think now but I think you did great - well done.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14APPLAUSE
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Wonderful - and, do you know, I can't wait to find out -
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- how did you get on? - Well, you can ask Andy that.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- Right. So, how did they get on, Andy?- They done really well,
0:08:38 > 0:08:43unfortunately they never qualified but the pipers came ninth and tenth
0:08:43 > 0:08:45out of 15 but the drum corp came second.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And what about yourselves? You know, you've been to the
0:08:48 > 0:08:51world championships now - do you say, "Well, I've done that
0:08:51 > 0:08:53"with my life, I'll do something else"? Or do you keep playing?
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Well, we'll keep playing with the Ulster-Scots
0:08:55 > 0:08:58and any concerts that come up we'll play at them
0:08:58 > 0:09:00and we'll go to the world's next year, hopefully.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Zoe, did your friends know what you were doing?
0:09:02 > 0:09:05And what do they think about you and your wonderful hobby?
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Yeah, they thought it was good and they were all waiting for it,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12looking at me on the TV and everything.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15And we are so proud of you, coming in the top ten!
0:09:15 > 0:09:17In the whole of the world!
0:09:17 > 0:09:19CHEERING
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Time for some more music now with the Hank Williams'
0:09:25 > 0:09:27I Saw The Light, the Low Country Boys.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29CHEERING
0:09:29 > 0:09:31MUSIC: I Saw The Light
0:09:35 > 0:09:37# I wandered so aimless
0:09:37 > 0:09:40# Life full of sin
0:09:40 > 0:09:44# I wouldn't let my dear Saviour in
0:09:44 > 0:09:46# Then Jesus came like
0:09:46 > 0:09:48# A stranger in the night
0:09:48 > 0:09:52# Praise the Lord I saw the light
0:09:53 > 0:09:58# I saw the light, I saw the light
0:09:58 > 0:10:02# No more darkness, no more night
0:10:02 > 0:10:06# Now I'm so happy No sorrow in sight
0:10:06 > 0:10:10# Praise the Lord, I saw the light
0:10:12 > 0:10:16# I was a fool to wander and stray
0:10:16 > 0:10:20# For straight is the gate And narrow the way
0:10:20 > 0:10:25# Now I have traded The wrong for the right
0:10:25 > 0:10:30# Praise the Lord, I saw the light
0:10:30 > 0:10:32# I saw the light
0:10:32 > 0:10:34# I saw the light
0:10:34 > 0:10:36# No more darkness
0:10:36 > 0:10:39# No more night
0:10:39 > 0:10:41# Now I'm so happy
0:10:41 > 0:10:43# No sorrow in sight
0:10:43 > 0:10:46# Praise the Lord, I saw the light
0:10:49 > 0:10:51# Praise the Lord
0:10:51 > 0:10:56# I saw the light. #
0:10:57 > 0:11:00CHEERING
0:11:02 > 0:11:05They're great - the Low Country Boys. And we'll be hearing more
0:11:05 > 0:11:09from them later on. Now, I've come to join actor, writer,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13director Dan Gordon. And this part of Belfast for you, Dan,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15has really strong family connections.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Yes, I mean, I grew up around here,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19you can hear it all going on in the background,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22it's a heavy industrial area. Got my school uniform on the road
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- and my father worked in the shipyard. - It goes further back than that,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- doesn't it?- Oh, yeah. My grandfather came from the countryside
0:11:28 > 0:11:33into Glasgow and got a job in the shipyards on the Clyde, in Govan,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36and Harland and Wolff had a partner shipyard
0:11:36 > 0:11:40so over he came, started a family - there were six brothers,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42two sisters, all the brothers had an opportunity in some way,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46to work in the shipyard. My... one uncle, Andy, did 50 years,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49another uncle did 30. My father worked there on and off
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and all the brothers, at some stage. They brought the language with them as well, the syntax
0:11:53 > 0:11:55and the semantics, they... he would use phrases... you know,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58a lot of complimentary things like - "You big hallion.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01"You big skitter. You big glipe." And, "You big..." whatever.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The Ulster-Scots were a fairly entrepreneurial lot
0:12:04 > 0:12:06and some great inventors amongst them.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Like John Getty McGee who invented the Sherlock Holmes coat,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13the Ulster coat it's known as. Because the Victorian coats
0:12:13 > 0:12:17at the time were very cumbersome so he got a cape and sleeves
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and Sherlock Holmes was seen and fog-bound taxi
0:12:19 > 0:12:21drivers in the old stories.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22With the cape...yeah.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26And there was also a woman's version, it was called the ulsterette
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and the material they used was ulstering
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and if you wore one of the coats you'd been ulstered.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Then you have, er, someone like John Boyd Dunlop
0:12:34 > 0:12:38who is, in my mind, a big UlsterScot. He came over from
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Ayrshire about 1840. He was in Downpatrick, he was a veterinary.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45He set up a practice there and then he came to Belfast
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and it was there in May Street that he
0:12:48 > 0:12:51has a son with a little tricycle bike.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52It was too bumpy for him and he thought -
0:12:52 > 0:12:55"What way can I make this better?" And he invented the
0:12:55 > 0:12:58pneumatic tyre, he got sheet rubber, he filled it with air,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02put it on the bicycle - it was originally on a wooden disc, he realised it worked so much better.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03A guy called Willie Hume,
0:13:03 > 0:13:08who was the captain of the Belfast Cruisers Club cyclists,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12won every race he entered, apart from one in Liverpool, I think...
0:13:12 > 0:13:13Cos he had these pneumatic tyres on his bike?
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Because of the pneumatic tyre. Sadly, John Boyd Dunlop,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20he did patent it but there was another Scotsman had
0:13:20 > 0:13:22patented it in France and America years before
0:13:22 > 0:13:26so he didn't make his fortune but his name was on the company.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Dan, thank you so much.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Now, there are a lot of really good, historical walking tours
0:13:31 > 0:13:34around the city of Belfast, but you know, there's not a specific
0:13:34 > 0:13:36one for Ulster-Scots.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40So, especially for The Gaitherin, we asked local historian
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Raymond O'Regan to compose a whistle-stop tour
0:13:44 > 0:13:45of some of the Ulster-Scots' churches
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and the people who made their mark on Belfast.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52This actual building, the Exchange & Assembly Building,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56in 1786 a man called Waddell Cunningham,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59he calls a meeting of rich merchants and the idea was...
0:13:59 > 0:14:01you buy a ship,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03take goods from Belfast to the Gold Coast.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06You pick up your captured slaves, cross to the West Indies
0:14:06 > 0:14:09and to the Southern Carolinas and you bring back molasses.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Thomas McCabe, he hears what they're up to,
0:14:12 > 0:14:13goes along to the meeting and stands up
0:14:13 > 0:14:16and speaks to them the way I'm talking to you now
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and part of what he said was - "May God wither the hand
0:14:19 > 0:14:20"of anybody who signs that document."
0:14:20 > 0:14:24This was an Ulster-Scots Presbyterian and member of that church. Discovers...
0:14:24 > 0:14:27one person, goes along and stops these really important merchants.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30So, this is the particular building, it eventually became a bank
0:14:30 > 0:14:32but it has a great history.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37This is a very historic site.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39It actually goes back to the 10th century.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42You've heard of the Battle of the Boyne? 1690?
0:14:42 > 0:14:44King William is in Ireland to fight King James at the
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Battle of the Boyne. He arrives on the Saturday
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and on the Sunday he attends a service in the
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Corporation Church and the chair that he used is in the church.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56So that's the chair that King Billy used
0:14:56 > 0:14:58when he attended the service here
0:14:58 > 0:15:01in 1690 before he headed off to the Battle of the Boyne.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Now, people say, "Oh, it's very small."
0:15:03 > 0:15:05He was only 4'9".
0:15:05 > 0:15:08So, if they had made a big, big chair he would have looked like a child!
0:15:14 > 0:15:181695, the Reverend McBride has leased this land,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21this is him here, actually. And they build the first church.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25From 1702 to 1714 Queen Anne is on the throne
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and she is what you call a very High Tory, a very High Anglican
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and she detests the dissenters, the Presbyterians,
0:15:31 > 0:15:32more than the Catholics.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36This particular Reverend McBride, because he held public office -
0:15:36 > 0:15:40there's a notice of abjuration and, basically, you had to sign this.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42There was parts of it he disagreed with in principle,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45so he wouldn't sign it, so on four different occasions
0:15:45 > 0:15:47he had to escape to Scotland otherwise
0:15:47 > 0:15:48he would have been arrested.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52One particular time, the mayor comes round with soldiers to arrest him.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Can't find him in the church, goes into the manse,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57the house next door where he lived, couldn't find him there,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00but in his bedroom he finds McBride's portrait, so what does he do?
0:16:00 > 0:16:04"Well, you're not here, but your portrait..." So he takes out his sword
0:16:04 > 0:16:06and stabs the portrait.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Just to explain why we're talking about Ulster-Scots in Belfast...
0:16:11 > 0:16:15in 1603 Queen Elizabeth decides to defeat Ulster Gaels,
0:16:15 > 0:16:16they were Catholics.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19A man called Sir Arthur Chichester from Devon,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23as a reward for his part in defeating the Ulster Gaels he is given Belfast.
0:16:23 > 0:16:281607 - he plants people from Lowland Scotland who are Presbyterians
0:16:28 > 0:16:31and he takes people from Cornwall and Devon, his area, Anglicans.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36So you had a mixture in Belfast from 1607 onwards of Anglicans from
0:16:36 > 0:16:40the south of England and Presbyterians from Scotland.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44As we go through into the 1640s Presbyterians tend to become more
0:16:44 > 0:16:46in the majority.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48That's the finish of it, hopefully you enjoyed it.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Thanks a lot.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51APPLAUSE
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Historian Jonathan Bardon - do you have any particular favourites?
0:16:54 > 0:16:57I think the interior of the Rosemary Street Presbyterian Church
0:16:57 > 0:16:59always delights me.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- Why?- Erm, because it's a bit like Wedgwood pottery
0:17:03 > 0:17:08in its design, the oval shape, the gracefulness of it.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09Any other buildings?
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Well, Belfast being a young city it hasn't got
0:17:12 > 0:17:14many 18th-century buildings
0:17:14 > 0:17:17but the finest is the Belfast Charitable Society,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21in Clifton Street, and that is splendid both in and out.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24I'm very fond of Robinson and Cleaver's with its
0:17:24 > 0:17:28little statues of Queen Victoria and the Maharaja
0:17:28 > 0:17:30and the Crown Prince of Germany.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34But if you think of the buildings and then think of
0:17:34 > 0:17:35the names in Belfast...
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Ulster-Scots names that have made their mark...
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Well, I think of actors and artists - people like James Ellis,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44James Young, Frank Carson, erm...
0:17:44 > 0:17:47these are all with Ulster-Scots names, of course,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49er... Isabella Tod, the educationalist...
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Helen Waddell, the translator and poet.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Harry Ferguson, who enrolled in the Tech in 1906 and
0:17:56 > 0:17:59flew the first plane in Ireland in 1910.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Well, I know of the Mackies, the great, great engineers with, erm,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05flax-spinning plants all across the country.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- James Mackie came across as a Scot...- Uh-hm.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10..in the early 19th century to found, er,
0:18:10 > 0:18:16the firm which became the largest flax-machinery works in the world.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18And, of course, there was Samuel Davidson
0:18:18 > 0:18:21who came back from his tea plantations in Assam
0:18:21 > 0:18:25to fund the Sirocco works, the biggest fan-making business
0:18:25 > 0:18:28in the world, tea-drying machinery, even German warships
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- were fitted with them.- Oh, really?!
0:18:31 > 0:18:34The German fleet scuttled itself at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36They were raised at the end of the war with compressed air
0:18:36 > 0:18:39and then it was discovered that their fans were from the
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Sirocco works in East Belfast.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Thank you very, very much, Jonathan, thank you.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47So far, we have been watching Tim McGarry, you know, struggle a little
0:18:47 > 0:18:50bit with his Ulster-Scots pronunciations
0:18:50 > 0:18:53in his quest to learn the language and then present
0:18:53 > 0:18:57a stand-up routine in Ulster-Scots before the end of the series.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01So, to help him along linguist and coach Ian Parsley
0:19:01 > 0:19:05took him to St George's Market for a little bit of retail therapy.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Right, Tim, the pressure's on, we've only got one more go at this.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11I've been doing some homework, Ian, I want you to know that.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14But I have a serious question now - some people will say Ulster-Scots
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- is, basically, English in a Scottish accent.- Yeah.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- There is more to it than that, isn't there?- A lot more to it.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20There's a whole grammatical structure,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23there are idioms and phrases and there are some words of
0:19:23 > 0:19:27- various origins that we all use, day and daily. - But you've brought me here...why?
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Well, really to see in daily life in Northern Ireland what sort of
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Ulster-Scots terms and words we use even here in the centre of Belfast at St George's Market.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37And some will have good comedy value, I hope?
0:19:37 > 0:19:38Well, that's for you to decide.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42That's a nice bread here, you've brought me to buy me
0:19:42 > 0:19:45- a breakfast, have you, Ian? - Well, we'll see about that,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47but, erm, what I actually brought you to talk about
0:19:47 > 0:19:49was the origins of some of these breads
0:19:49 > 0:19:51cos a lot of them are actually Ulster-Scots.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54In the corner here we have the Belfast bap.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56A bap is the Scots word for any sort of bread roll.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Of course, it's come into English - it specifically means a burger bap.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04And then we have the wheaten farl. Farl is from the old Scots word
0:20:04 > 0:20:06fardel, which means quarter or fourth part,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09and, look, he's even cut them into quarters for us here.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- Oh. Any chance of you buying me one? - Well, we'll see about that.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Typical Ulster-Scot.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19- What words am I going to learn now? - We've got, first of all,
0:20:19 > 0:20:21- neeps and tatties.- Well, I know tatties are potatoes.- Yep.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- Neeps are...- Turnips.- Turnips. - You get that in your Burns' feasts
0:20:25 > 0:20:28every 25th of January. And then over here we have kale.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- Cabbage?- Kale is Ulster-Scots and it's also the plural,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33you never talk about kales. In English you talk about cabbages.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- Right.- Sometimes you have to think about how
0:20:35 > 0:20:38you use words as well as what words are.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40And then we've something I've bought you.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43You've finally bought me something. What have you bought me?
0:20:43 > 0:20:49- Goosegabs.- Gooseberries? Goosegab in UlsterScots?- Goosegab.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51- Red ones, too.- Red ones, they can be green or red
0:20:51 > 0:20:53but we thought we'd go for red.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Tough job I have.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04So, Ian, some breads, vegetables, now we're at fish.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07We're at fish and in Scots your fishing rod is called your
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- fishing wand as in magic wand.- OK.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12And if you happen to magic up a sole fish of any sort...
0:21:12 > 0:21:16- a sole fish is usually called a fleuk.- A fleuk?- A fleuk.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18- And usually that refers to plaice. - This is plaice here?
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- This is plaice here. - Oh, that's slimy.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23And if you want to refer specifically to plaice
0:21:23 > 0:21:25rather than any sort of other sole fish,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27you might use - just say what you see.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- Er... well, it's fairly flat. - Fairly flat. So you might call it
0:21:30 > 0:21:33- a flattie.- Well, a flattie.- You can refer to lots of things
0:21:33 > 0:21:35as a flattie, you know, a saucer that you might have under your tea
0:21:35 > 0:21:39is a flattie as well, so it's very often about just saying what you see.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Well, thanks very much, that's been really good...
0:21:43 > 0:21:46OK, Tim, you need to focus, you need to plan, you need to
0:21:46 > 0:21:50be ready. Next time we meet is your last chance before the event itself.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52He's an awful hallion, isn't he?
0:21:53 > 0:21:56So, Ian, you are having good fun when you're out and about with Tim?
0:21:56 > 0:21:59But it is going to get an awful lot more difficult for him, isn't it?
0:21:59 > 0:22:00There's no harm in having fun
0:22:00 > 0:22:03but it only gets tougher from here because learning
0:22:03 > 0:22:04UlsterScots, like any other language,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06isn't just about learning different words.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09It's about learning a different grammatical structure
0:22:09 > 0:22:13and Ulster-Scots has its own grammatical structure, distinct from standard English.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15In what sense? How do you mean it's got its grammar?
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Well, if you take things that we may even be familiar with...
0:22:18 > 0:22:20for example, if we say - "Do you know is he here?"
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Instead of "Do you know if he's here?" "Do you know if he's here?" is standard English,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26"Do you know is he here?" is from Scots and Northumbrian,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28comes across from that direction so that would be
0:22:28 > 0:22:31regarded as correct in Ulster-Scots but it's not correct in standard English.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35How do you mean? Like in French and German? You have to construct the sentence differently...?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Just the same and also how to use the different words.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Some of the words, at least in traditional Ulster-Scots,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44have different plurals. The plural of coo, for cow, is kye, not coos.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48The plural of shoe for shoes is shuin, not shoes.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51So, there's other complications as well.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Is, sort of, developing his language skill about understanding
0:22:55 > 0:22:57the origins of the language more, do you think?
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Well, I think it's very helpful to understand
0:22:59 > 0:23:02the origins of any language and if we look at the origins of English
0:23:02 > 0:23:05and Ulster-Scots they both
0:23:05 > 0:23:07originate in the north-west of Germany,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10round about the 500s. They came across to the east of England,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13to the east of Scotland, at that stage...and there was a big division
0:23:13 > 0:23:15in England at that time, around the River Humber
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and north of that was Northumbrian and south of that was Mercian.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Standard English derives from Mercian and standard Scots,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24as was spoken in medieval Scotland, derives from Northumbrian.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27So you had a distinction there which was recognised
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- throughout the medieval period. - It's a fascinating story of the
0:23:30 > 0:23:34movement of people and them carrying their language with them.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Yes, and they moved about Great Britain, but then, of course,
0:23:36 > 0:23:40they moved from both England and Scotland to what is now Northern Ireland
0:23:40 > 0:23:44and they brought with them both standard English but also Lowland Scots.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47And that's where Ulster-Scots comes from.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49And, indeed, some of them kept going and remarkably, as recently as
0:23:49 > 0:23:52the 1820s there was poetry written in Ulster-Scots
0:23:52 > 0:23:55in the United States, not only written but also sold and bought
0:23:55 > 0:23:57by subscribers in the United States.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00It is fair to say, though, that Ulster-Scots is perceived as
0:24:00 > 0:24:02a rural language, you know, is that it?
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Well, I think what happens is - when you have a language
0:24:05 > 0:24:08and then you have the global language - English
0:24:08 > 0:24:10coming in and being the language of administration,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13inevitably the other language, in this case Ulster Scots, is put
0:24:13 > 0:24:16on the back foot so it does tend to recede into more rural,
0:24:16 > 0:24:17coastal areas.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20Having said that, there are aspects of our daily speech
0:24:20 > 0:24:24for everybody in Northern Ireland, which are really Ulster-Scots
0:24:24 > 0:24:26rather than standard English. From the word "wee"
0:24:26 > 0:24:29right through to phrases like you used to hear in the shipyards here -
0:24:29 > 0:24:34"Me and him's friends," is very bad grammar in standard English but it's very good in Ulster-Scots.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36We were chatting to Dan Gordon earlier on and he's
0:24:36 > 0:24:39actually written plays in Ulster-Scots
0:24:39 > 0:24:42about the shipyards. And we have an extract from The Boat Factory
0:24:42 > 0:24:45by the children of Cregagh Primary School.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48They actually presented it in Scotland quite recently.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- This is the story of Willie McPhee.- A likely wee lad, as smart as can be.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56At the shipyard in Belfast he's startin' the day.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Left school at 14...
0:24:58 > 0:24:59BOTH: ..and into the fray.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01IMITATE HORN BOTH: We're late for the yard!
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Jings, cribbens, help my boab, I'm late!
0:25:04 > 0:25:07We're comin', we're comin'.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11You'd better hurry or McQuillan give you a tonnin'.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Why's it Bob? He hasn't a baldy what we get up to.
0:25:13 > 0:25:14You're a blether.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17No, no, I'll hit him, sure I'm no fearty,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19- he can't even kick back doors. - Oh, really?
0:25:19 > 0:25:21THEY MOCK
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Oh, Mr McQuillan, sorry we're late, we're just clocking in now.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Mr McQuillan?
0:25:26 > 0:25:28THEY LAUGH
0:25:28 > 0:25:29- Got you!- They only called him.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Now, come on and stop standing in your ain light.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Hey, boy, I'm over here...
0:25:34 > 0:25:37- beside the boat.- What do you want? - Are you Willie McCandless the
0:25:37 > 0:25:41- new joiner's apprentice.- Aye, you're Mr McQuillan, the foreman.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- Don't be such an eejit, do you see me wearing a boulder hat?- No.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Well, then, I'm not Mr McQuillan and I'm Tucker Riley.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- And you, Willie McCandless, are late. - I got off the tram too
0:25:51 > 0:25:53- early and I got a bit lost. - No excuses.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56That Mr McQuillan will have your guts for glider if you don't
0:25:56 > 0:25:58- come up with a better one than that. - What's glider?
0:25:58 > 0:26:01It's the black, slippery slide that slips the boats
0:26:01 > 0:26:04- down the slipway.- Where would I find him?- At the timekeeper's hut.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06- Where's that?- Boy's a dear...
0:26:06 > 0:26:10You really are an eejit, hold on a minute and I'll show you.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Tucker, is that Willie McCandless, the new joiner's apprentice?
0:26:13 > 0:26:14Yup, none other.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Well, Willie McCandless, apprentice,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18I've got a very important job for you.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19Get over to them boys
0:26:19 > 0:26:23and ask them for a big tin of tartan paint for Mr Harland.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25ALL LAUGH
0:26:25 > 0:26:28- What have you to bring?- A big tin of tartan paint for Mr Harland.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30LAUGHTER
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Good lad. Here, give us your piece.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35BOTH: Oh, here comes Mr McQuillan, run! Quick!
0:26:35 > 0:26:37LAUGHTER
0:26:37 > 0:26:39APPLAUSE
0:26:41 > 0:26:44That was absolutely fantastic, well done.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48- Let's meet the team. Your name is...? - Owenie.- Well done.- Lois.- Loved it.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50- Jonathan.- Jonathan.- Nathan.- Nathan.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- Nice to meet you.- Colby. - It was absolutely fantastic.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Now, tell me, what was it like going to Scotland to perform this play?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59It was really good, just the whole experience and stuff of it.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01And what about speaking in Ulster-Scots?
0:27:01 > 0:27:04- How comfortable did that feel for you?- It was OK.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Are you going to keep some of those words going?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09- Yeah.- Make sure you do, it was absolutely lovely.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Would you give another lovely round of applause for our actors
0:27:12 > 0:27:14from The Boat Factory?
0:27:14 > 0:27:15Thank you very, very much.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Time for a little bit more music, this is the
0:27:18 > 0:27:20Low Country Boys with Wild Wood Flower.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22CHEERING
0:27:22 > 0:27:25MUSIC: Wild Wood Flower
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Well, that's all we have time for, thanks very much to everyone
0:27:45 > 0:27:48here and to the East Belfast Mission for letting us in.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Next month we'll be in Coleraine and if you would
0:27:51 > 0:27:53like to be in the studio audience then contact
0:27:53 > 0:27:56the address on the screen now.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58That's all we've time for, we must go.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00But, from everyone here, bye-bye.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53CHEERING