A repone tae Norn Iron

Glaikit braindeid nationalists at the helm o the country, fires burnin doon hoosies when they cowp, fitba supporters bungin toom Buckfest bottles at catholic pleyers an fechtin wi security. When oor media keeks owre the sheugh tae Northern Ireland these days it senns back an image that’s like Scotland seein its ain distorted form in a fun fair mirror. Aa the worst bits magnified, aa the guid bits left blurry an distortit.

Norn Iron, as Ah’ll caa oor neebors here oot o respect fir their Ulster Scots tongue, is the abandoned bairn o Scottish culture. We dinnae spik aboot it maist o the time. But this past wee whilie, three events hae gard us glower west. It hasnae been comfortable viewin.

Oor Norn Irish neebors hae lookit like patriotic, blindit ee’d bigots wha still revel in the carnival o protestant ascendancy lang efter fowk hae tyned their belief in God. This image isnae wioot justification. Let’s remind oorsels.

The Democratic Unionist Perty entered an agreement wi Theresa May. They prop her up like the stick up the dowp o a tattie bogle. So noo us Scots are in pairt haein oor future screivit fir us by this puckle o heid bangers. DUP are a slater thats creepit oot fae unner a stane an horrified aabdy. Ah’ll no rak owre the coals o the DUP deal, their clarty billion nor their doitit stance oan abortion an homosexuality. We aa ken mair nor we need tae anent thae ugsome thochts. Suffice tae say that the appearance oan the scene hasnae been guid fir the image o Norn Iron in these pairts.

The seccont hing that’s brocht the cultur o Norn Iron intae sherp focus has been thae muckle fires they set ableeze oan the eleeventh nicht o July. As we aa ken it’s oan the anniversay o the Battle o the Boyne, when twa warrin factions o royalists were each slittin the thrapple o the ither tae decide which unelected tyrant wid rule owre them.

Noo, this is a real ‘bairn an bathwatter’ situation. Aabdy loves a guid fire. They should hae them a puckle yards further fae fowks hoosies like, so’s they dinnae cowp onto the roofs an burn the hail street doon. But they should be allowed tae keep them aa the same. Whit’s at issue here is the yaise o bonfires as a wye tae cairry oot cultural intimidation. They’re gey aft yaised as a declaration that “we can dae whit we like: this toon’s oors”.

The extremists hae tane control o the symbol o the fires. But it would be the easiest thing in the warld tae tak them back. Gin a few communities o fowk that arnae total roasters would get thegither an organise a muckle pallet fire, mibbie mirrored by a few guid anes oan oor shores, then we could redd oot the foul aspects o this event like weeds fae a gairden.

The final bowfin piece o cultural keich that Norn Iron has depositit intae oor collective consciousness this month wis the scenes during Linfield Fitba Club v Celtic in the Champions League Qualifiers.

Ah ken that readers o Bella are no aye intae fitba, so Ah’ll be brief.

Fitba violence is rare in the extreme in Scottish fitba. Polis dinnae even fash thirsels tae turn up to maist fixtures. Gemmes are a fun wee day oot, whaur hail cheery faimlies gang thegither tae enjoy the occasion.

But when Celtic went tae Linfield it was wilder than a hoose perty in hell. Leigh Griffiths, a Scottish international, was getting pelted aff coins an bottles ilka time he went near the crowd. Fowk were tryin tae drive by the lines o polis an polis dugs so’s they could skelp him. It wis derk age stuff compared tae the saft cheery reality o maist fitba the day.

The bams o Linfield were representit in the press as a symbol o rotten Norn Irish culture.

Ah’d argue that it wis a symbol o the opposite.

The Linfield stadium wisnae even hauf full. The guid fowk o Belfast had stayed at hame. An the few dicks throwin hings were denounced by their fellow supporters.

Same in politics. The DUP are daein the wark o the deil here oan earth, an a wheen o Norn Irish fowk votit fir them. True. But the vast majority, 64%, didnae. So there again there’s signs tae be encouraged by.

Fae oor side, the SNP are offerin a bittie official resistence. They’re sayin they’ll gie free abortions tae lassies fae Norn Iron. Thon’s a stert. But hou’s a lassie fae a scheme in Belfast meant tae tak herself owre tae Glasgae (fir exaimple), airt-oot a doacters they feel comfy wi, bide intae a hostel, feed thirsels, then somehou mak their wye hame efter sic a emotionally an physically difficult experience?

Gin we’re tae offer free abortions we maun big a supportive infrastructure, mibbie o charity an local government warkin thegither wi the NHS. Hauns owre the watter. The new, progressive an inclusive Scotland openin up its airms wide tae help these dochters sufferin thanks in pairt tae the inheritance o the auld Scotland.

There’s loadsae derk stuff over the sheugh in Norn Iron. But its bein chased awa by the risin o the sun. Let’s no visit upon the son the sins o the faither. Lets no big up a portrait o Norn Iron wi the images o these last weeks. We create the very bogles we fear when we get myopically obessed by ae fragment o a complex tableu, an leave oot the lave. Insteid, let’s big a brig o communication an freenship, that wid allow us tae be fairly critical, an usefu in oor support.

 

Alistair Heather is a student o History an French at Aiberdeen University. Gie him yer chat oan twitter @historic_Ally

Comments (18)

Leave a Reply to Ken Mair Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

  1. Alf Baird says:

    “would”? Wad?
    “could”? Coud?
    “to”? tae?
    “compared”? compare’t?
    “stayed”? steyed?
    “meant”? ment?
    “wye”? wey?
    “over”? ower?
    “very”? verra?

    No tae creeticeese an itherweys braw airticle, juist tae mak a pynt, that thon Scots langage shuid be taucht tae aw bairns in schuils, as weel as in oor ain universities. Jings, a degree in Scots Langage, thon wid be braw, naw? An necessary tae creaut aw the dominies needit tae teach aw the bairns thair ain mither tung. But naw, nae Scots langage tae be taucht in oor ain kintra; yon pouerless colonie Scotlan an hits ower-Anglicised institutions daes naethin cep garr anely oor administrative pouer’s langage doon oor thrapples.

    1. Ally says:

      Here Alf Ah cannae say owre muckle anent the University hing the noo, as its no public yet, but Ah’m involved wi a lang term project that’ll see us hae just sic a hing available fae aroon aboot 2019. Mibbie on a degree, but certainly Scots at Uni.

      We’re late, but it’s comin yet.

      Ah agree wi scuils, an thon’s whit stertin tae happen. We maun dae mair, o course

      1. Ken Ittaw says:

        Fowk dinna hae tae wait on the schuils an varsities. Thay can aye learn thairsels tae write Scots wi a prent oot o whit’s at http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/wal.asp

      2. Ken Ittaw says:

        Fowk dinna hae tae wait on the schuils an varsities. Thay can aye learn thairsels tae write Scots wi a prent oot o whit’s at http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/wal.asp

      3. Ken Mair says:

        Fowk disna need tae wait on the schuils an varsities. Thay can learn thairsels tae write Scots wi a prent-oot o whit’s at http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/wal.asp

      4. Ken Mair says:

        Fowk dinna hae tae wait on the schuils an varsities. Thay can aye learn thairsels tae write Scots wi a prent oot o whit’s at http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/wal.asp

        1. Alf Baird says:

          Ken, Scots fowk shuid aither hae equal richts wi Englis an Gaelic langages, i.e. baith taucht in oor scuils BY LAW (CfE, Higher) an uni’s (degree), an REGISTERED Englis an Gaelic Langage teachers tae, or we Scots hae naethin at aw, an we’ll aye bi doon-hauden, lyke a wee colonie. Dinnae juist sling a wabsite at fowk an assume thon’s equal richts. Its no, its naething naur equal richts. A wee scots langage wabsite’s braw, but its juist a wee giftie tae keep thon Scots langage lobby fowk frae jumpin up an doon. Scotlan’s ower-Anglicised heid bummers (i.e. its ‘administrative Power’ in UN terms) ken fineweel that if maist Scots diskiver’t thay haed thair ain langage, thay’d shuirly want thair ain kintra bak an aw, swift-lyke tae. Thare’s a guid raison the Scots langage isnae offeecially taucht tae Scots bairns an fowk, an nivver will bi till Scotlan’s free.

          1. Stuart Murray says:

            Gaelic campaigners achieved that right through campaigning rather than blaming any other language group. An orthography would be handy too.

  2. William Davidson says:

    Using the term “Norn Iron” isn’t showing respect to those over here who still speak Scots dialect, in my part of the world, a few miles from where the current Celtic manager was brought up and where the latter dialect is still strong, “Northun Irelann” would be the term used. “Norn Iron” is pure Belfast, nothing to do with Ulster Scots.

    1. Ally says:

      Ahhh sound min,

      Ah speired at a couple pals fae NI afore yaisin the term.

      Consider ma unnerstaunin expanded

  3. Steve says:

    Try that again in English?

    1. Ally says:

      Naw.

      😉

    2. Stuart Murray says:

      Do you mean the article or the response? In either case its a bit rude.

  4. pictai macaesir says:

    Murdering wains is na celebrated.

  5. Will says:

    Murderin puir weans in the womb is na ta be celebrated. There’s been sound – na throwin bottles, burnin Doon the hale street – then there’s been on a liberal British high horse to a half understood Ireland.

    1. Ally says:

      Ken whaur yir comin fae Wull.
      Ah amnae arguin fir or agin abortions.

      Ah’m sayin if we’re tae gie them free, then we maun at least support the puir lassies as they ging through the ordeal.

      Ah’m certainly no awa tae judge them either but.

      1. will says:

        Being impartial really is an art.

    2. Stuart Murray says:

      Odd though thit the DUP disnae hae a problem wae yon legal differentiation atween Nothren Ireland and the rest o the UK, een though a merch atween thir airt an thon yins on the British island wuild be a no gang in licht o Brexit talks due tae it treatin Nothren Ireland as bein no the same as Ingland, Scotland and Wales.. Ciamar a chanas tu “inconsistency” anns a’ Bheurla Ghallta?

Help keep our journalism independent

We don’t take any advertising, we don’t hide behind a pay wall and we don’t keep harassing you for crowd-funding. We’re entirely dependent on our readers to support us.

Subscribe to regular bella in your inbox

Don’t miss a single article. Enter your email address on our subscribe page by clicking the button below. It is completely free and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.