Mid and East Antrim has a wheen of events for Ulster-Scots Leid Week!
Friday 31 October 2025
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is planning a series of events to mark Ulster-Scots Language Week 2025 this November.
Taking place from 24 to 28 November, the line-up will include film previews, discussion events, poetry and prose readings, a history walk and a ‘Dailygan’ concert featuring Ulster-Scots music and storytelling.
The events will take place in Ballycarry, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Cullybackey, Larne, and Whitehead, and are supported by the Ulster-Scots Agency.
Speaking ahead of Ulster-Scots Leid Week, Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Jackson Minford, said: “We have a rich Ulster Scots linguistic tradition in the Borough, and it is a proud legacy worthy of celebrating.
“All those who lived in this area in bygone times, would have used words and phrases which came with their forefathers from Scotland when thousands of Scots migrated to the area during the 17th-century, bringing their language, culture and their faith.”
“The programme of events celebrates the long-standing heritage of Ulster-Scots here through spoken and written word, music and scran.”
The events will kick up on Monday, 24 November, with a guided walk around the Weaver’s Trail in Ballycarry which commemorates the foremost of the Ulster-Scots Weaver poets, James Orr.
There will also be a series of short films, by Tristan Crowe, previewed that evening at Whitehead Community Centre; including “The Witch of Glentow”, an adaptation of a traditional County Antrim poem, featuring poet Charlie Gillan.
Another film, following Elizabeth Jackson, mother of the Seventh President Andrew Jackson, on her journey “From Carrick to the Carolinas” will be previewed at the Jackson Centre and US Rangers Museum.
A second Northern Visions Television film, “The Man who fell into the Muttonburn Stream”, will tell the story of local poet William James Hume, whose 1930s folk song about the small stream outside Ballycarry has been recorded by several artists including Richard Hayward, Houl Yer Whist and the Ulster-Scots Folk Orchestra over the decades.
On Tuesday, 25 November, Larne Town Hall will be hosting a panel discussion evening on Ulster Scots with participants including broadcaster Laura Spence, American linguist Dayna Jost and poets and writers Charlie Gillen and Davy Moore. Music at the event will be provided by the Alastair Scott Ceilidh Band.
There will be a “Weavers and Scrievers” event at Arthur Cottage, Cullybackey, on Wednesday, 26 November, between 12 noon and 3pm.
Poetry and readings from the Ulster-Scots community will be complemented by baking displays, and will include poets David Herbison (The Bard of Dunclug), James Orr (Bard of Ballycarry) and Samuel Thomson (Bard of Carngranny).
Finally, an Ulster-Scots descriptive word – ‘Dailygan’ meaning sunset/end of daylight – has been chosen to title a special concert of music, song and storytelling at the Studio Theatre in The Braid, at 7.30pm on Thursday, 27 November.
The band Stonewall – named after General Stonewall Jackson, whose ancestors were from County Armagh – will be taking to the stage for the event.
The group are set to be a draw for the Ballymena show, along with piper Duane Johnston, who has a background in the Royal Irish Regiment Pipe Band and Broughshane and District Pipe Band, as well as singer/songwriter and storyteller Colin Urwin from Glenarm, whose published work includes The Madman’s Window and Dalriada Folk Tales.
Further information on the events of Leid Week 2025 are available by contacting: E: Members.Services@midandeastantrim.gov.uk, while tickets for the Dailygan concert are available online through The Braid Arts Centre’s booking platform.