Saturday, July 10, 2010

Ulster-Scots and the Union

F3ECD6AB-A148-4053-BD2B-DC2CE080BF90.jpgThere's a series in the News Letter at the moment with various contributors giving their views on what the United Kingdom might be like in 2021 - the centenary of the foundation of Northern Ireland. Often in recent years, Ulster-Scots and Unionism have been portrayed as the same thing. They're not. The Ulster-Scots community predates the Union, as a community the Ulster-Scots have sometimes supported the Union, and have sometimes opposed the Union, and if at some point in future the Union comes to an end (perhaps by being broken up, or by being absorbed into a bigger European "superstate") then Ulster-Scots will outlive the Union.

This is another example that demonstrates how cultural identity and political identity are not the same thing.

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