Irish history would be forever altered by the settlement of British families in the 17th century.

What prompted the Plantation of Ulster and where did the settlers come from? How did the landscape alter with the arrival of these people?

This talk sets the Plantation in context and examines whether or not the Plantation was a success and also examines some of the perceptions of the event; the O’Neills, for example, received land grants under the terms of the Plantation settlement, while the idea that British Protestant settlement would lead to a uniform province was mistaken as the English and Scottish settlements were significantly different.

Most recently delivered to: Ballyclare Probus Club, County Antrim

The story of the Scots Covenants was once widely known in the Ulster Scots community, but is now largely forgotten. However the Covenanter period was a stirring one in Scottish history and many Covenanters, under pressure from the ecclesiastical authorities, fled across the channel to Ulster.

The Covenanters resisted the church authorities of the day and refused to worship in the established churches, being opposed to the reforms being promoted to make the Church of Scotland closer to the Church of England. They raised armies, their most famous regiment being the Cameronians.

One of the most famous poems about the period in Ulster is ‘The Ballad of Willie Gilliland’ by the antiquarian and folk poet Sir Samuel Ferguson, which tells the story of a Covenanter hiding out in Glenwherry, County Antrim. The talk looks at the story of the Covenanters and how significant they were in the context of Ulster history, political thought and religious outlook.