Although many people think that the Scots story in Ulster begins with the 17th century Plantation, medieval history tells us differently.

This talk examines the story of the Bruce family connection with Antrim and Ulster, culminating in the 1315 invasion by Edward Bruce on the Antrim coast. But the Bruces also appear to have set out to cultivate a pan-Celtic alliance against England, which included contact with Irish chieftains.

The talk also looks at Bisset and MacDonnell connections on the same coastline and the impact and legacy that both these settlements had on the social and political landscape.

The Borders were a unique region of the British Isles, the frontier between England and Scotland and the first point of contact when invasion came on either side of the Tweed.

This was a land which had its own laws and systems of government yet was governed by the King or Queen. Whenever James VI of Scotland became James I of England, things changed. There was a clampdown on the Borders, and the infamous Riding Clans came under pressure.

The Grahams, Armstrongs, Kerrs and others made a new life for themselves in a new frontier, the Borderlands of the new Ulster Plantation in the 17th century. Explore the story of the Border Reivers and the impact and legacy which they had in this enthralling talk from a speaker of Border Scot extraction.