Out of touch. Much?

What world is Nelson McCausland living in? He thinks that, in the midst of a recession, wasting £25 million on minority language broadcast funds represents "good news for unionists"! Ulster Scots is getting £5 million you see.

What percentage of pro-Union voters have even a semblance of interest in this so-called language, accepted by most leading authorities as a dialect of Scots, which for political reasons has been pursued as a rival to Irish?

Here are a few reactions from a non-politics website frequented by sports fans in Northern Ireland.

I heard a dupe-r on earlier saying that the money for Ulster Scots was good for unionism...can anyone explain why?


Selfish f**king hateful self serving scum.
They've closed a ward in the dementia unit at Holywell hospital due to lack of funds.


What a scandalous waste of money at any time never mind in the middle of a recession. Disgraceful


Absolute disgrace how they can justify this is beyond me


How exactly are they going to spend this £25 million and how did it get to the top of the list?

It just sums up the backwards nature of this place that something like this would take priority. Its a political stunt in order to win green and orange votes in the sectarian mindfield on NI politics.

Although will the hard questions be asked?

I mean do these self serving f*ckers at Stormont ever think of real politics and real issues or are these irrlevant?


Good luck to anyone involved in Ulster Scots (I'd be interested in the history, ancestry, plantation side of things) but throwing another £5 million at it is a joke. Running about in skirts speaking in a Ballymena accent should only be taken so far.

Comments

Timothy Belmont said…
Correct. I can only speak for myself; and I haven't the slightest, most tenuous interest in the Ulster-Scots dialect, let alone Gaelic.

It has no relevance to me whatsoever; and I see that the glorious Arts Council of NI is wasting more of our money on dual language welcome messages on its website, too.
Anonymous said…
Point of information
The Ulster-Scots Broadcast fund will not be restricted to language like the Irish language one is. It's remit will be wider to include heritage and culture so much of the frothing at the mouth is based on an inaccuracy. Interest in the language is small but interest in the broader culture and heritage is much stronger and the broadcast fund will service that.

On a broader point Ulster-Scots identity and revival is a living breathing example of historical and ongoing cultural relationships and interaction that characterise the United Kingdom so why the need for such hostility?
Owen Polley said…
1) There is no hostility to people investigating and promoting whichever culture they want. I do object to the waste of money on this project. No-one subsidises my hobbies!

2) Another objection is the attempt to infer that 'Ulster Scots' is THE unionist culture. I.e. this funding decision is a victory for unionists. a) unionism is a political idea which should not attach itself exclusively to a particular culture b) go out and ask unionists in the street whether they give a flying one about this funding or whether they'd prefer the money to be spent on something else.
Kevinho said…
Jings, crivvens, help ma boab! Eh'll be scunnered. Kin ony o' yon Unionists fair sprach the leid? :-D
Anonymous said…
"No-one subsidises my hobbies!"

Yes they do or are you unaware of the public subvention going to the irish football association or did sports council grants to ballymena football club somehow pass you by?

"b) go out and ask unionists in the street whether they give a flying one about this funding or whether they'd prefer the money to be spent on something else."

Nothing passes the "or your granny dies in an A&E test" and if precsented in factually incorerect and negative terms I doubt it would do well.

Populism is a doiuble edged sword. For example if populism is your tool for assessment go and ask Unionists about the idea of Unionisy unity and it does pretty damn well. However, I think you'd choose to reject as what you consider the downsides of the idea outweigh its populism.

Perhaps if you could get past media caricature of Ulster-Scots, over your dislike for NM and the DUP and get some information correct you might see the value in investing in producing creditable media productions on an important cultural community in Ni and link in the UK - and ensure the terrible crap the BBC passes off as US broadcasting is banished from our screens.

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