Latest news with #Ulster-Scots
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Eve Blair to present Your Place And Mine as part of new BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle weekend schedule
BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle is refreshing its weekend schedule, with Eve Blair to present the long-running Your Place And Mine on Saturday mornings from 8-9am. Anna Curran and Taylor Johnson will also be joining the station's weekend line-up Saturdays Eve Blair, who has presented The Late Show from Monday-Thursdays on BBC Radio Ulster since 2017, will become the new lead presenter for Your Place And Mine from Saturday 10 May 2025. She succeeds another Foyle-based presenter, Anne-Marie McAleese, who presented her final edition of the programme in February. Eve joins Kerry McLean (who'll have an extended Saturday programme from 6.30-8am), David Maxwell on Gardeners' Corner (9-10am), Holly Hamilton on Consumer Fightback (10-11am) and John Toal's Saturday With John Toal (11am-1pm). Taylor Johnson will host a brand new programme between 6-8pm each Saturday evening, kicking off with nostalgic hits and the second hour dedicated to championing new music from local artists across a range of genres in BBC Introducing. He'll be followed by Neil Martin's Folk Club (8pm-10pm) and The Late Show With Mike Edgar (10pm-midnight). Sundays Sundays will feature a combination of new and familiar elements, including a mid-morning programme with Anna Curran and different slots for some existing programme strands. Kerry McLean will ease listeners into Sunday mornings with an earlier start time of 6.30-8am, followed by Sunday Sequence with Audrey Carville between 8-9.00am. Morning Service and Thought for the Week will now run from 9-10am. Our mid-morning Sunday 'news hour' will feature topical stories and news-related discussions between 10am-11am. And there'll be a lifestyle feel to our new magazine programme Sunday With Anna Curran with big interviews and human interest stories from 11am-1pm. Sounds Sacred with Richard Yarr remains in its established 5-6pm slot, as does Kintra with Helen Mark and the Ulster-Scots team between 6-6.30pm and Classical Connections with John Toal from 7-9.00pm. Sunday With Brian D'Arcy has a new, late-evening home between 9-10.00pm and it will be followed by Kathy Clugston's Sunday Club. Emma Dunseith, BBC Northern Ireland's Senior Head Of Content Production, says: 'We're excited about these schedule changes. They include a number of new strands alongside our established programmes. Our listeners will have much to enjoy, whatever their interests. And they'll have the best BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle company across the weekend from early morning until late at night.' Eve Blair says: 'Your Place and Mine is such a wonderful programme, a really unique show that manages to capture the true essence of our beautiful country and its people. It's an honour to take over the reins from Anne Marie McAleese, who brought so much to the show for so many years. I can't wait to get to know the listeners and hopefully welcome along my Late Show listeners too.' Anna Curran says: 'Like a lot of people, Sunday is my favourite day of the week. Now I've even more reason to enjoy it because I'll be spending mine in conversation with a brilliant line-up of guests and, of course, our wonderful listeners. The show will be a mix of in-depth interviews, music and reviews of the Sunday papers in a relaxed and chatty style, which is right up my street!' Taylor Johnson says: "It's been a dream of mine for a long time to present my own show on BBC Radio Ulster. I feel like I've come through the youth academy here at the BBC, having worked on nearly every show on the station! Now, I've found my home. It's very special, I can't wait to get started and make a difference to a new generation of musicians on this island." All programmes will be available on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle. Listen to Radio Foyle/Ulster on BBC Sounds MM2
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'There isn't a definitive version' - the changing face of Irish America
"There is no such thing as one, definitive, version of Irish America." This phrase, or a variation of it, comes up time and time again when speaking to people who broadly fit under the umbrella of being 'Irish-American'. Some come from the Republic of Ireland, some from Northern Ireland, others have families who emigrated more than 150 years ago, some have been in the United States for less than 12 months. They all say the vision of Irish America that is still common in the popular imagination - of corner bars in Boston, Cork-accented cops in Chicago, the Kennedys, Catholicism, work on the railroads - is just one part of a patchwork of identities across the US. Josh Taggart from Ballymoney in County Antrim is one of the newer generation, although he follows in the footsteps of the Ulster-Scots emigrants who provided so many early US presidents. Studying for a masters degree at Georgetown University and interning on Capitol Hill at a major Congressional committee, the 28-year-old was drawn to the US by the familiar lure of better opportunities. 'My girlfriend and I were doing this cost/benefit analysis, looking at the state of the UK and public services, cost of childcare, cost of housing, salaries,' he says. 'If I did the same job I was doing in London but I did it in Washington DC where would I be five years from now? "She's a nurse and it's just night and day with the salaries. That kind of made the decision for us.' But he feels unlike previous generations who perhaps felt they had no choice to leave a weaker economy behind, he made a more proactive decision. 'Part of what made it so easy is that our generation is a global generation, we're not afraid of jumping on a flight or living in another country for a couple of years and that is the way we've grown up,' he says. Roisin Comerford is also a first-generation immigrant and spent time in Portland, Oregon, before putting down roots in Washington DC. She is the chairperson of Irish Network DC, one of a number of affiliated groups across the US which provide cultural and social networking opportunities for their members, whether they are Irish or just have an interest in Irish culture. She says a lot of Irish in DC are drawn to the universities or work in international relations, healthcare and politics. 'It is too difficult to sum Irish America up as one group - you could probably divide it into three or four," she says. 'I know a lot of people my age who moved over here for opportunities, who are happy to live here and have a life here and they have one view of Ireland. 'Then there are people who moved in the 80s and they would have a different view of it and then there are more old school Irish-Americans who have another view, people whose parents or grandparents emigrated from Ireland. 'They are generally very proud to be Irish and very interested in Irish culture.' In the 2020 census 38.6m people in the US claimed full or partial Irish ancestry - 11.6% of the population. But levels of immigration have fallen as the US has strengthened entry requirements at the same time that the Republic of Ireland's economy has dramatically improved and Northern Ireland's society has become more peaceful following the end of the Troubles. The 1930 US census recorded 923,600 residents who were born on the island of Ireland. By the turn of the century that had fallen to 169,600. There was a time when Irish immigration was not universally seen as a positive thing, with job adverts routinely stating 'Irish need not apply'. Roisin says she feels privileged to be an Irish immigrant in a country that today feels very welcoming to people of her background. It is a sentiment shared by Kevin Tobin, who moved to the US from County Tipperary 14 years ago. He ended up in Baltimore in Maryland - a city with a long-standing Irish community - where he is chairman of Baltimore GAA club. On a chilly Saturday morning where the misty weather is a visible reminder of home, he organises two dozen players as they play hurling and football in an urban park. 'The Irish accent would travel very well in America, it's a very welcome thing. People are very fond of it and it certainly doesn't do you any harm when, for example, you turn up for a job interview,' the father-of-two says. 'We're not necessarily protective of Irishness, we don't need to defend it, it defends itself. 'Therefore your version of Irishness and my version of Irishness, whether they're different or not doesn't really matter. 'People are very proud to be Irish but we don't have to act a particular way or spend time with a particular person or eat a particular type of food to be Irish. "It's not necessarily an identity on an ID card, it's a way of life, a way of carrying yourself, a way of being warm and being welcoming. 'There is no one definitive Irish America.' Of the 80 or so members at the club, a handful were born in Ireland, about a third consider themselves Irish-American and the rest simply fancied giving Gaelic games a try. One of the handful is Ciarán Quinn from Belfast, who is taking part in the session wearing his Antrim county jersey. 'We moved here and we didn't know a single person, but GAA is a community,' he says. 'Having that community and people who can help you with jobs, help you with whatever, it has been very helpful and great to meet the locals because lots of them play too.' Joyce Eierman on the other hand has Irish roots which go back much further than just a few years. Three sets of her great-grandparents moved to the US in the mid-19th Century and she is part of Baltimore's historic Irish community. Four generations of her family worked on the railroads, including her son who is an engineer. She is secretary of the Friendly Daughters of St Patrick Maryland - the only surviving Friendly Daughters group in the US. It is a social and charitable organisation for women of Irish heritage, and Joyce stresses that it is open to those of all religions and none. 'The men were breadwinners for a long time in the Irish community but the women held everything together and we carry that forward because we want to help others, that is the most important thing about what we do," she says. 'Having fun is good and we want to use that to raise money for those in need, especially women and children. 'For the most part the people I know from the Irish community they learned from their grandparents and their own parents, and it is our job to pass that pride in our heritage on to that generation." Irish immigrants in US: 'There is more of a fear element now' Teaching Irish on Canadian TV for St Patrick's Day
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Irish America's changing face: 'There isn't a definitive version'
"There is no such thing as one, definitive, version of Irish America."This phrase, or a variation of it, comes up time and time again when speaking to people who broadly fit under the umbrella of being 'Irish-American'.Some come from the Republic of Ireland, some from Northern Ireland, others have families who emigrated more than 150 years ago, some have been in the United States for less than 12 all say the vision of Irish America that is still common in the popular imagination - of corner bars in Boston, Cork-accented cops in Chicago, the Kennedys, Catholicism, work on the railroads - is just one part of a patchwork of identities across the US. Josh Taggart from Ballymoney in County Antrim is one of the newer generation, although he follows in the footsteps of the Ulster-Scots emigrants who provided so many early US for a masters degree at Georgetown University and interning on Capitol Hill at a major Congressional committee, the 28-year-old was drawn to the US by the familiar lure of better opportunities.'My girlfriend and I were doing this cost/benefit analysis, looking at the state of the UK and public services, cost of childcare, cost of housing, salaries,' he says.'If I did the same job I was doing in London but I did it in Washington DC where would I be five years from now? "She's a nurse and it's just night and day with the salaries. That kind of made the decision for us.'But he feels unlike previous generations who perhaps felt they had no choice to leave a weaker economy behind, he made a more proactive decision.'Part of what made it so easy is that our generation is a global generation, we're not afraid of jumping on a flight or living in another country for a couple of years and that is the way we've grown up,' he says. Roisin Comerford is also a first-generation immigrant and spent time in Portland, Oregon, before putting down roots in Washington is the chairperson of Irish Network DC, one of a number of affiliated groups across the US which provide cultural and social networking opportunities for their members, whether they are Irish or just have an interest in Irish says a lot of Irish in DC are drawn to the universities or work in international relations, healthcare and politics.'It is too difficult to sum Irish America up as one group - you could probably divide it into three or four," she says.'I know a lot of people my age who moved over here for opportunities, who are happy to live here and have a life here and they have one view of Ireland. 'Then there are people who moved in the 80s and they would have a different view of it and then there are more old school Irish-Americans who have another view, people whose parents or grandparents emigrated from Ireland. 'They are generally very proud to be Irish and very interested in Irish culture.' In the 2020 census 38.6m people in the US claimed full or partial Irish ancestry - 11.6% of the levels of immigration have fallen as the US has strengthened entry requirements at the same time that the Republic of Ireland's economy has dramatically improved and Northern Ireland's society has become more peaceful following the end of the 1930 US census recorded 923,600 residents who were born on the island of the turn of the century that had fallen to 169, was a time when Irish immigration was not universally seen as a positive thing, with job adverts routinely stating 'Irish need not apply'.Roisin says she feels privileged to be an Irish immigrant in a country that today feels very welcoming to people of her background. It is a sentiment shared by Kevin Tobin, who moved to the US from County Tipperary 14 years ended up in Baltimore in Maryland - a city with a long-standing Irish community - where he is chairman of Baltimore GAA a chilly Saturday morning where the misty weather is a visible reminder of home, he organises two dozen players as they play hurling and football in an urban park.'The Irish accent would travel very well in America, it's a very welcome thing. People are very fond of it and it certainly doesn't do you any harm when, for example, you turn up for a job interview,' the father-of-two says.'We're not necessarily protective of Irishness, we don't need to defend it, it defends itself.'Therefore your version of Irishness and my version of Irishness, whether they're different or not doesn't really matter. 'People are very proud to be Irish but we don't have to act a particular way or spend time with a particular person or eat a particular type of food to be Irish. "It's not necessarily an identity on an ID card, it's a way of life, a way of carrying yourself, a way of being warm and being welcoming.'There is no one definitive Irish America.' Of the 80 or so members at the club, a handful were born in Ireland, about a third consider themselves Irish-American and the rest simply fancied giving Gaelic games a of the handful is Ciarán Quinn from Belfast, who is taking part in the session wearing his Antrim county jersey.'We moved here and we didn't know a single person, but GAA is a community,' he says.'Having that community and people who can help you with jobs, help you with whatever, it has been very helpful and great to meet the locals because lots of them play too.' Joyce Eierman on the other hand has Irish roots which go back much further than just a few sets of her great-grandparents moved to the US in the mid-19th Century and she is part of Baltimore's historic Irish generations of her family worked on the railroads, including her son who is an is secretary of the Friendly Daughters of St Patrick Maryland - the only surviving Friendly Daughters group in the is a social and charitable organisation for women of Irish heritage, and Joyce stresses that it is open to those of all religions and none.'The men were breadwinners for a long time in the Irish community but the women held everything together and we carry that forward because we want to help others, that is the most important thing about what we do," she says.'Having fun is good and we want to use that to raise money for those in need, especially women and children.'For the most part the people I know from the Irish community they learned from their grandparents and their own parents, and it is our job to pass that pride in our heritage on to that generation."
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN criticises failure to appoint language commissioners
A failure by the executive to appoint commissioners for the Irish language and Ulster-Scots has been criticised by a United Nations (UN) committee. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) also criticised "inadequate funding" for cultural and language rights. New language laws for Northern Ireland were passed in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022. But an Irish language commissioner and a commissioner for the Ulster-Scots and Ulster British tradition have not yet been appointed. The roles, along with an Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, were originally promised in the New Decade, New Approach deal in 2020. But the office has not been set up, and there are no commissioners yet in place. The president of the Irish language and culture group Conradh na Gaeilge, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, welcomed the UN report. He said he hoped commitments previously agreed by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin to appoint an Irish language commissioner would soon be delivered. "I hope we'll have them in place before the end of this [Stormont] mandate, I do not for the life of me understand what the delay is," he told BBC News NI. Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said Irish language campaigners were deeply disappointed that a timetable for the appointment was not spelled out in the executive's programme for government but insisted that organisations would continue to put pressure on politicians to appoint someone to the role. The commissioners are meant to monitor the services public bodies deliver to Irish and Ulster-Scots speakers. Proposals from the language commissioners have to be approved by the first minister and deputy first minister before taking effect. CESCR is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors how states are implementing international agreements on social and cultural rights. Its latest report, which has just been published, monitors the UK government's actions and those of the devolved governments, including Northern Ireland. "The committee regrets that the institutions created to protect and promote the Irish language and to promote and develop the Ulster-Scot tradition have not yet been established," the committee's report said. It recommends that the executive "expedite the establishment of the institutions and policies envisaged for the protection and promotion of the Irish language and Ulster-Scots culture and heritage." A penal law dating from 1737, which prohibited the use of languages other than English in court, was recently repealed. It cleared the way for Irish to be used in legal proceedings in Northern Ireland. But there has been political disagreement over cuts to cross-border funding for the Irish language. That led to a recent strike by some Irish language organisations and activists. "The committee is concerned at the inadequate funding for culture and culture-related activities, which hampers the right of all to participate in cultural life, to express one's own identity, values and way of life without fear of discrimination," the UN report said. Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said the UN committee was "echoing what we have been saying, not just with recent announcements around cuts to Foras na Gaeilge, but this something that's been 20 years in the making." "We have way more kids now enrolled in Irish medium education, we've much deeper demand for services across the whole strata of society, yet groups are expected to do more and more with less and less," he said. "That isn't sustainable, groups are really staring into the abyss as things stand. "We welcome that the report has highlighted this but more importantly it needs to be on the radar of Stormont to ensure a solution is found urgently to address this crisis." The UN Committee also highlighted other rights in its report, including expressing concern about the controversial Troubles Legacy Act and recommending "access to safe abortion services". It also called for more schemes to help women, people with disabilities, young people, ethnic minorities and migrants into employment. While it cannot force the UK government or the Northern Ireland Executive to act, the governments will have to report to the UN committee on what steps they are taking to implement its recommendations.
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
UN criticises failure to appoint language and culture commissioners
A failure by the executive to appoint commissioners for the Irish language and Ulster-Scots has been criticised by a United Nations (UN) UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) also criticised "inadequate funding" for cultural and language language laws for Northern Ireland were passed in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act an Irish language commissioner and a commissioner for the Ulster-Scots and Ulster British tradition have not yet been appointed. The roles, along with an Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, were originally promised in the New Decade, New Approach deal in the office has not been set up, and there are no commissioners yet in place. The president of the Irish language and culture group Conradh na Gaeilge, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, welcomed the UN said he hoped commitments previously agreed by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin to appoint an Irish language commissioner would soon be delivered."I hope we'll have them in place before the end of this [Stormont] mandate, I do not for the life of me understand what the delay is," he told BBC News Mac Giolla Bhéin said Irish language campaigners were deeply disappointed that a timetable for the appointment was not spelled out in the executive's programme for government but insisted that organisations would continue to put pressure on politicians to appoint someone to the role. The commissioners are meant to monitor the services public bodies deliver to Irish and Ulster-Scots from the language commissioners have to be approved by the first minister and deputy first minister before taking is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors how states are implementing international agreements on social and cultural latest report, which has just been published, monitors the UK government's actions and those of the devolved governments, including Northern Ireland."The committee regrets that the institutions created to protect and promote the Irish language and to promote and develop the Ulster-Scot tradition have not yet been established," the committee's report recommends that the executive "expedite the establishment of the institutions and policies envisaged for the protection and promotion of the Irish language and Ulster-Scots culture and heritage." A penal law dating from 1737, which prohibited the use of languages other than English in court, was recently cleared the way for Irish to be used in legal proceedings in Northern there has been political disagreement over cuts to cross-border funding for the Irish led to a recent strike by some Irish language organisations and activists."The committee is concerned at the inadequate funding for culture and culture-related activities, which hampers the right of all to participate in cultural life, to express one's own identity, values and way of life without fear of discrimination," the UN report said. Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said the UN committee was "echoing what we have been saying, not just with recent announcements around cuts to Foras na Gaeilge, but this something that's been 20 years in the making.""We have way more kids now enrolled in Irish medium education, we've much deeper demand for services across the whole strata of society, yet groups are expected to do more and more with less and less," he said."That isn't sustainable, groups are really staring into the abyss as things stand."We welcome that the report has highlighted this but more importantly it needs to be on the radar of Stormont to ensure a solution is found urgently to address this crisis."The UN Committee also highlighted other rights in its report, including expressing concern about the controversial Troubles Legacy Act and recommending "access to safe abortion services".It also called for more schemes to help women, people with disabilities, young people, ethnic minorities and migrants into it cannot force the UK government or the Northern Ireland Executive to act, the governments will have to report to the UN committee on what steps they are taking to implement its recommendations.
