Ulster-Scots Agency
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The Ulster-Scots Agency (in its own Ulster Scots, Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch) is a cross-border body set up in Ireland to promote the Ulster dialect of Scots and its attendant culture.
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[edit] Overview
The Ulster-Scots Agency was set up to promote Ulster-Scots on the island of Ireland along with Foras na Gaeilge, which was set up to promote the Irish language. The agency is part of The North/South Language Body established as a result of the Belfast Agreement of 1998.
Its remit is "the promotion of greater awareness and the use of Ullans and of Ulster-Scots cultural issues, both within Northern Ireland and throughout the island". "Ullans" and "Ulster-Scots cultural issues" are defined in inter-governmental agreement and enshrined in legislation[1] as follows: ""Ullans" is to be understood as the variety of the Scots language traditionally found in parts of Northern Ireland and Donegal. "Ulster-Scots cultural issues" relate to the cultural traditions of the part of the population of Northern Ireland and the border counties which is of Scottish ancestry and the influence of their cultural traditions on others, both within the island of Ireland and in the rest of the world."
The mission statement that it has adopted is as follows:
"The aim of the Ulster-Scots Agency is to promote the study, conservation, development and use of Ulster-Scots as a living language; to encourage and develop the full range of its attendant culture; and to promote a wider awareness and understanding of the history of the Ulster-Scots."
It is jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the Republic of Ireland.
The Agency's head office is in Belfast, but a second office in Raphoe in east County Donegal is planned.[citation needed]
As of 2005[update], projects being undertaken or planned include: a tape-recorded survey of native speakers, the compilation of a two-way Ulster Scots/English dictionary, a text base of written Ulster Scots, an expert translation service.[citation needed]
[edit] Newspaper
The agency publishes an English language newsletter, albeit with some token Scots, several times a year entitled "The Ulster-Scot" as a supplement to the Belfast News Letter. The publication was also made available free of charge upon request. "The Ulster-Scot" has occasioned some controversy. The writer and broadcaster Malachi O'Doherty reported in the Belfast Telegraph on 2 December 2002:
"I have just received a copy of their paper, The Ulster Scot. I showed it to a republican minded friend and was intrigued by his reaction. "Isn't it great," he said. What he liked about it is that it makes Ulster Protestants look stupid. It depicts them as chauvinistic and naive."
[edit] Controversy
The agency came under fire when the head of the organisation, Stan Mallon, was jailed for 21 months for arranging to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex in a hotel room in Chicago in March 2002 while on Agency business. Following his high profile arrest, police raided his home in Northern Ireland and found indecent images of children on his computer. In December 2003 his jail sentence was doubled to 41 months following an appeal by the prosecution.[2][3] He was also fined $5,000.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/99085903.htm The North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (Schedule 1)
- ^ Mallon jail sentence doubled
- ^ Court hears child porn allegations - BBC
- ^ US Prosecutors Appeal Sentence - BBC
