'Celtic Confederate' music

Check out Celtic Confederate, a Facebook friend of mine of who happens to make excellent music. Pick up one of his albums and support a young Southern heritage activist... you won't regret it after listening to some of his music!

'The title "Celtic Confederate" is in respect of the typical, poor Southern soldier, majority of whom were of recent Celtic descent and who did not own slaves, yet fought for their own liberty against the invading Federal army which first setout to preserve a "voluntary" union that the Federal North contributed in its dismantling by the strangulation of, and profiteering from, the Southern economy.'

Alabama Christian Music

Seen this on Mark Thompson's site. Scrolling down it was interesting that even in the midst of war in 1944 there was an awareness of the Ulster-Scots people and of who and what they were.

Americans visit Ulster

Think this place is in N.C. Couple of wee things they seemed to have got mixed up a bit, but overall a good report and good to see the interest.

The Highlander

'The Highlander is open Monday through Friday from 3PM until 2AM and on Saturday from 5PM until Midnight. Come enjoy good food and drink, games and hang out with friends!'

Patriotic flags

The flags of the United Kingdom, Ulster, Dixie, former Rhodesia and former South Africa....

From Belfast to America

BELFAST AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY by Jonathan Bardon


'for the next sixty years there was a spectacular out-pouring of ‘Scotch-Irish’ to America. By the middle of the eigthteenth century it was reckoned that 12,000 were leaving Ulster every year.

Belfast was the most important port of departure,even though the most distressed areas were in the west of Ulster. Between 1750 and 1775 at least 143 emigrant vessels left Belfast for America,65 of them with Philadelphia as their destination. For many,America was indeed,as one advertisement put it, ‘the Land of Promise’; a notice in the ‘Belfast News Letter’ in 1766 informing the public that the ‘Falls’ was shortly to sail from Belfast and called on readers to embrace ‘such a favourable opportunity by settling themselves to advantage by removal to that country,a removal which cannot fail to give freedom,peace,and plenty to those who now wish to enjoy those blessings’. America was a land of limitless opportunity to Ulster Scots,where their skills in taming a wild country would be highly valued,and where the Presbyterian work-ethic would receive its just reward,as de Crevecoeur wrote invitingly in 1782:

Welcome to my shores….bless the hour thou didst see my verdant fields,my navigable rivers,and my green mountains!- if thou wilt work,I have bread for thee;if thou wilt be honest,sober,and industrious,I have greater rewards to confer on thee – ease and independence. I willl give thee fields and clothe thee; a comfortable fireside to sit by,and tell thy children by what means thy has prospered…

‘The humour has spread like a contagious distemper,and the people will hardly bear anybody that tries to cure them of their madness,’ Boulter observed. He continued: ‘The worst is,that it affects only Protestants and reigns chiefly in the north,which is the seat of our linen manfacture.’ Catholics had not the inclination to go to the colonies which were still overwhelmingly Protestant.

A prolonged depression – as in the 1770s – could lead to a sudden increase in emigration. Ulster Protestants deeply resented the commercial restrictions designed to protect the mother country’s interests when they had done so much to defeat the Irish Jacobites. Besides,earnings from linen were not enough to compensate for rent increases:

For the rents are getting higher,and I can no longer stay,
So fare well unto ye bonny,bonny Slieve Gallon Braes.
For these days are now all over,for Iam far away,
So fare well unto ye bonny,bonny,Slieve Gallon Braes.

The journey from Belfast across the Atlantic could be perilous,especially when fever broke out on board,or when ships were delayed by calms and contrary winds. In 1729,175 people died on board two vessels from Belfast during the crossing. In 1741 the ‘Seaflower’ sprang her mast en route from Belfast to Philadelphia; forty-six passengers died and six of their corpses were eaten in desperation by the survivors. A fortnight of storms drove the ‘Sally’ off her course from Belfast to Philadelphia in 1762,and sixty-four passengers died. John Smilie survived this voyage and wrote an account of it for his father:

……Hunger and Thirst had now reduced our Crew to the last Extremity; nothing was now to be heard aboard our Ship but the Cries of distressed children,and their distressed Mothers,unable to relieve them. Our Ship now was truly a real Spectacle of Horror! Never a day passed without one of our Crew put over Board; many kill’d themselves by drinking Salt Water; and their own Urine was a common Drink; yet in the midst of alll our Miseries,our Captain shewed not the least Remorse or pity…..

A distinguished list of Ulster-Scots from Londonderry who helped make America

'Londonderry has had a long and chequered history with the Siege there in 1688-89 a highly significant landmark in the annals of these islands and, through the centuries from the origins of the Scottish Plantation, Ulster-Scots have made a meaningful contribution to life in the Maiden City and in the wider North West. Londonderry was a main port for the emigration of Ulster-Scots Presbyterians from the north of Ireland to America and many from this diaspora were prominently involved in the establishment of the United States as the bedrock of global democracy and independence. The list of US luminaries is impressive.'

Scots-Irish festival coming up in Tennessee

'The only Scots-Irish Festival in the United States will be held on Sept. 25 starting at 8:30 a.m. in downtown Dandridge, Tennessee. The music festival honors the town’s earliest settlers. You and your family will enjoy this old-time Main Street Music Festival on the shores of Douglas Loch (Lake) in the foothills of the beautiful Smokey Mountains. The festival starts at 8:30 a.m. with a Piping and Highland Dance competition. At 10 a.m. the Street Festival opens with vendors selling Scottish and Irish merchandise and a variety of food. There is a Children’s Play Area and many Clans will have booths explaining their origins and history. Starting at 12:00 noon there will be continuous stage entertainment featuring our Ceilidh (Concert) entertainers including Sevier County’s own Cutthroat Shamrock. '

Excellent version of 'Scotland the Brave'

Here's a very good version of 'Scotland the Brave' that I ran across on YouTube preformed on bagpipes.

Thousands experience Ulster-Scots culture

This is the cover of the June 2010 publication from the Ulster-Scots Agency. Check out their excellent website at this link.

Thumbs up for Ulster!

A special thanks to my friend 'DixieRedHand' over in Ulster for sending a package here with a couple Ulster flags and several newspapers with stories on pro-Ulster events going on. You're the best, man! You can't get that stuff over here so it's extra special.