The Irish Scots and the “Scotch-Irish”

Description

If you’re looking for a brief overview of the Scotch-Irish and their role in American history, here’s an interesting place to start. The Irish Scots and the “Scotch-Irish” takes its name from an article the author wrote for The Granite Monthly of Concord, New Hampshire, to which were appended several other pieces–all of which were first published in book form by the American-Irish Historical Society in 1902. Unlike most accounts of the Scottish families who re-settled in Ulster beginning in 1612-1620 and continuing through most of that century, Linehan’s essays focus less upon the animosities between the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians and Irish Catholics and more on their cultural commonalities. Drawing on studies of language, religion, and history, the author contends that, in terms of ethnology, literature, and tradition, the Scotch-Irish had more in common with their Irish heritage (in Scotland as well as Ireland) than was customarily believed. Among other things, this was reflected in the names they chose for their settlements and fraternal organizations in America. The author expands upon this theme in discussions of medieval Scottish and Irish history, which reveals that many of the Scots who migrated to Ireland in the 17th century were in fact descendants of Irish families who relocated to Argyle in 503. Linehan also discusses the founding of a number of Scotch-Irish communities, such as Antrim, New Hampshire; Ulster Irish participation in the colonial wars and the War for Independence; and countless instances of Irishmen as “builders of the New Nation.” Genealogists will appreciate the list of the original Scottish settlers of the Ulster Plantation, 1612-1620, and the detailed name and subject index containing over 1,000 references.