Scotch-Irish

Scots-Irish (also called Ulster Scots) is an Irish ethnic group which ultimately traces its roots back to settlers from Scotland, and to a lesser extent, England. In particular Scots-Irish often came from the Scottish Highlands, Scottish Lowlands, Galloway, and the Scottish Borders.

The Scots-Irish (or their descendants) are primarily found in Northern Ireland, where they are Ulster Scots, and in the USA and Canada, where they are more specifically identified as Scotch-Irish. Most Scots in Ireland are Ulster Scots, although there are also some who live in the Republic of Ireland, mainly in Donegal.

The Scots-Irish are strongly identified with protestantism and, in Ireland, unionism. The Ulster-Scots are predominantly Presbyterian, with many Episcopalians, some Congregationalists, and some Quakers. In America, many Scotch-Irish people gravitated towards the Methodist and Baptist denominations. In Ireland, Ulster Scots are usually identified with the Irish unionist tradition, although many Ulster-Scots involved themselves in the Society of United Irishmen, an Irish republican organisation in the late 1790s.

History in Ireland

Main article: Ulster-Scots

See also: Plantations of Ireland, History of Ireland.

The migration of Protestant Scots to Ulster, Dublin, and other parts of Ireland, occurred mainly during the 17th and 18th centuries. The first major influx of Scots into Ulster came during the settlement of east Down. This started in May 1606 and was followed in 1610 by the arrival of many more Scots as part of the Plantation of Ulster. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Irish Catholics attempted to expel the settlers, resulting in inter-communal violence and ultimately leading to the death of somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 settlers and an undetermined number of Irish people over 10 years of war. The memory of this traumatic episode and the savage repression which followed, poisoned the relationship between the Scottish and English settlers and Irish Roman Catholics almost irreparably.

The Scots-Irish population in Ulster was further augmented during the subsequent Irish Confederate Wars, when a Scottish Covenanter army was landed in the province to protect the settlers from Irish Catholic forces. After the war was over, many of the soldiers settled permanently in Ulster.

Finally, another major influx of Scots into northern Ireland happened in the 1690s, when tens of thousands of people fled a famine in Scotland to come to Ulster.

The settlers and their descendants, the majority of whom were Presbyterian or Episcopalian, became the majority in the province of Ulster. However, along with Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and other non-Anglican Protestants were legally disadvantaged by the Penal Laws, which gave full rights only to Anglicans, who were mainly the descendants of English settlers belonging to the Church of Ireland. For this reason, up until the 19th century, and despite their common fear of the dispossessed Catholics, there was considerable disharmony between the Presbyterian and the Anglican population of Ulster. In 1798, many Ulster-Scots joined the United Irishmen and participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

Scots-Irish in the USA and Canada

Main article: Scots-Irish American

History

Scots-Irish Presbyterian settlers in New England often found themselves on the front line of the French and Indian Wars, having moved out into the frontier areas as a result of friction with the anglicans who dominated the urban areas. These Scots-Irish frontiersmen formed a large part of the ranger companies, notably Rogers' Rangers.

Many of those who fought in the American Revolutionary war, particularly on the rebel side, were of Scots-Irish ancestry. George Washington is said to have had a high opinion of the fighting skills of the Scotch-Irish living in Virginia.

Around 17 US Presidents have been partially of Scots-Irish origin, starting with Andrew Jackson and ending with the current incumbent, George W. Bush.

Proportion of population

In the United States Census, 2000, 4.3 million Americans (1.5% of the population of the USA) claimed Scots-Irish ancestry.

Some suggest that the true scale of Scots-Irish ancestry is higher, either because those of Scots-Irish descent may regard themselves as simply Irish, simply Scottish, or British; The other is that most of the descendants of this historical group have been so well melted into the soup pot that is American society for so long that, like English-Americans or German-Americans, they do not identify with their non-American ancestors as strongly as a group like the Irish-Americans. Also, most Scots-Irish have ancestry in North America that precedes the founding of the United States, thus being original Americans and identifying with being American instead of Scots-Irish.

External Sources

Blaney, Roger (1996) Presbyterians and the Irish Language. Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation and Ultach Trust.

Neilson, William (1808) [1990] An Introduction to the Irish Language (Reprint) Belfast: Iontaobhas ULTACH.

See also

• Anglo-Scot
• Presbyterian Church in Ireland
• Ulster