Scots-Irish

**macwilkin** · 8th June 07, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by Kiltedmusiclover

I just picked up a DVD to replace my well worn VHS copy.
It is a good story with the outstanding natural beauty of
Montana as the star.

Nelson,

Did you know there is another movie of one of Maclean's stories?

The Ranger, the cook and a hole in the sky was made into a TV movie back in the 1990's, starring Sam Elliot is USFS Ranger Bill Bell. I was fortunate enough to find a VHS copy:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114235/

It's a nice story, nothing earth-shattering. The town scenes were filmed at the set in Mape Ridge, BC where the TV show Bordertown was filmed.

I love Maclean's writing; his father reminds me of my grandmother in terms of the Scottish Presbyterian ethos.

T.

**Arlen** · 10th June 07, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by cajunscot

Arlen, have you ever seen the movie or read the story? You would love it -- a Scottish-American family that fly-fishes!

Regards,

Todd

I have indeed read the book and seen the movie.
For a long time my Fiance lived in Livingston, Montana where it the movie was filmed and went to school with a lot of the young kids who were in the movie.
I have to say, it is a really wonderful book.
If you enjoyed it and would like something similar, I'd reccomend Dancing at the rascal fair by Ivan Doig. Another great book about Scottish families in Montana.

**macwilkin** · 10th June 07, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by Arlen

I have indeed read the book and seen the movie.
For a long time my Fiance lived in Livingston, Montana where it the movie was filmed and went to school with a lot of the young kids who were in the movie.
I have to say, it is a really wonderful book.
If you enjoyed it and would like something similar, I'd reccomend Dancing at the rascal fair by Ivan Doig. Another great book about Scottish families in Montana.

Several years ago I found an audio book of Doig's "This House of Sky", his biographical account of growing up in Montana.

Maclean's other writings, especially on the Mann Gulch forest fire in the late 40's, are also worth checking out.

T.

**Phil** · 11th June 07, 04:06 AM

Ulster Scots have a long and distinguished history in the development of America. If you are interested in finding out more have a look at this link

http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ulster-scots.html

Presidents of Scots-Irish descent were Andrew Jackson, James Knox Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses Simpson Grant, Chester Alan Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson.
President McKinlay said of the Scots-Irish "They were the first to proclaim for freedom in these United States; even before Lexington the Scotch Irish blood had been shed for American freedom." He was referring to a fight at Alamance River in North Carolina on May 14th, 1771, between a British force and the local Scots-Irish inhabitants.
George Washington said: "If defeated everywhere else. I will make my last stand for liberty among the Scotch Irish of my native Virginia." He obviously held them in high regard. Reading the above link will give you a good idea why.

**slohairt** · 8th June 07, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by Arlen

As far as the whole Mc and Mac thing, it is similar to the idea that Lowlanders capitalise and highlanders don't. (IE MacDonald vs Macdonald.)
They are both just anglocized ways of spelling Gaelic names. Whether they be Scots, Irish, Manx, Breton... whatever
Yes, that's right, you get Manx and Breton names which begin with Mc or Mac.
It doesn't mean Scots or Irish, it just means son of somebody who probably a while back spoke Gaelic.
Similarly, Nic means daughter of. So the name Nicolson/Nicholson etc is Daughter of Olsen. A mix of Viking and Gaelic.
And similar to that you will get names that are Scots or Irish but have a Norman or German root.

I will admit, the Mc or Mac prefix to a name does tend to be more common in Scottish names, but it isn't solely Scottish or Irish.

Dia Dhuit!

As far as capitalisation, it's true that many Lowlanders (of Highland descent) did not capitalise the stem of their patronymic, while Highlanders often did. Conversely, there are anglicised names which almost never have a capitalised root.

Manx uses a very different orthography than the other two languages. It is loosely based on Welsh/English phonetic rendering. Mac is only represented in Manx names by a residual "c" at the beginning.

Breton, is of course, a Celtic language, but it's particular patronymic is "Ab" which corresponds to the Welsh "Ap." Both mean "son of" like the Gaelic "mac"
However, the language is distantly related to Gaelic, as it belongs to the Brythonic branch.

You're right, "Nic" does mean "daughter of." However, the name Nic(h)olson is Mac Neacail meaning "son of Nicholas." Daughter of would be Nic Neacail.

So, yes, Mac is exclusively Gaelic (meaning Irish, Scottish, and Manx).

Sorry to ramble

Just got to dust off studies!