Sir, - It geid ma hert a heize tae see that Irish and Ulster Scots were yaised at the Ulster Foregaitherin. Ony siller it costs is weel worth it. Onybody wha thinks thae twa leids are sectarian suld ken that in Scotland there are Wee Free sermons in Gaelic whilk mak Ian Paisley's soon lik bairnsang. An the Scots Catholic, Tom Leonard, screives in Glesga Scots. As oor great Scottish makar Hugh MacDiarmid pit it: "Will Gabriel in Esperanto cry?/ or aa the warld's undeemis jargons try?"
Owersettin intil Inglis: It lifted my heart to see that Irish and Ulster Scots were used at the Northern Ireland Assembly. Any financial costs are well worth it. Anyone who thinks that these two languages are sectarian should know that in Scotland there are Free Presbyterian sermons in Gaelic that make Ian Paisley's sound like nursery rhymes. And the Scots Catholic, Tom Leonard, writes in Glasgow Scots. As our great Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid put it: "Will Gabriel in Esperanto cry?/or all the world's unregarded jargons try?" - Yours, etc.,
Dr Bob Purdie,
Ruskin College,
Oxford.