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Date: 27 November 2025
The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tracy Kelly, joined primary school children in City Hall this week to celebrate Ulster-Scotch Leid Week in the city.
The week is an opportunity to celebrate the heritage and culture of the Ulster-Scots tradition and aims to promote awareness and understanding of the language. The special event at City Hall was attended by schoolchildren who took part in workshops featuring Ulster-Scotch drumming, dancing and poetry.
The event was organised by the Ulster-Scots Agency and hosted by Belfast City Council.
William Olphert, Director of Education and Language at the Ulster-Scots Agency, used a ‘wheen o wurds’ to lead the poetry workshops. Drumming workshops were delivered by absolute experts in their field – music teacher Brendan Megoran, who has over 40 years’ experience of playing in bands, and Drum Major Charlotte Ruddick, who won the World Champion title at the World Pipe Band Championships in 2024 aged 20. Pupils were also shown ‘how tae highland dance’ by teacher Demi Walker who encouraged them to try a few toe and heel steps.
Councillor Kelly said: “I was delighted to be able to join local schools in City Hall today to celebrate Ulster-Scotch Leid Week in the city.
“The week itself brings a packed programme of events across Northern Ireland, putting the Ulster-Scots language and culture in the spotlight.
“Events like this one provide schoolchildren with a chance to take part and learn some Ulster-Scotch poetry, dancing and drumming.
“Belfast has a rich connection to the Scots’ heritage and, through our Language Strategy, our council is committed to fostering linguistic diversity and working with communities to look at how best we can support this unique language and encourage more people to get involved. “
Ian Crozier, CEO with the Ulster-Scots Agency, said: “We’re delighted to see a wide range of Ulster-Scots language activities taking place across Ulster as we celebrate Leid Week 2025, and we’re particularly pleased to host an event within Belfast’s City Hall, given the role that Ulster-Scots played in the development of Belfast.
“Ulster-Scots Language week occurs in the last week of November each year across all of Ulster and is the perfect opportunity to explore more about the language and how much it forms a part of our everyday speech.”
For more information on Ulster-Scotch Leid Week, visit the Ulster Scots Agency website www.ulsterscotsagency.com