THE REPUBLIC’S “forgotten community”, the Ulster Scots, yesterday opened a special centre aimed at exploring their history and culture as well as attracting tourists.
Monreagh Manse, the country’s first Ulster-Scots Heritage Centre, was opened at Carrigans in east Co Donegal, in a building linked to a church across the road which is the home of Ireland’s second-oldest Presbyterian congregation, dating back to 1644.
Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív recalled before performing the official opening that over time the Ulster-Scots in the Border counties of Donegal, Monahan and Cavan had become a “forgotten community” in the Republic.
As he unveiled a plaque to mark the opening, he noted that the Monreagh building and its history represented the relationship between the two traditions in Ireland and their shared tradition of emigration to America.
Mr Ó Cuív said his primary aim when contributing funding for the project was to demonstrate that “the Republic I serve is a warm home for all its citizens”.