#ulster-scots

[citizen69]

Two photos of Scotland as seen from North Antrim in Northern Ireland.

Photos by Six Mile Images and Anne Kelly.

[scotianostra]

26th June 1824 saw the birth of William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, eminent Scottish physicist.

Although born in Belfast, Thomson was brought up in Scotland, his father was Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow University and his son took lesson there from the age of ten.

Kelvin attended university classes from the age of 10. He wrote his first scientific paper, under the pseudonym 'PQR', aged only 16.

In his teens he learned French well enough to read the work of eminent French mathematician Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier. Philip Kelland, Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh University, had criticised Fourier's work on the theory of heat. Kelvin boldly stated that Kelland was wrong – and later scientists agreed with him.

From 1841 to 1845 Kelvin attended Cambridge University. He was an excellent student – although he shocked his father by spending his allowance on a boat.

After graduating, Kelvin worked in a Paris laboratory with physics professor Victor Regnault.

Kelvin was influenced by the mathematical ideas of George Green, a self-taught miller's son from Nottingham.

He later brought an essay of Green's to the attention of fellow mathematicians and physicists by republishing it in a respected scientific journal. Until then the essay on mathematical analysis, electricity and magnetism had gone largely unnoticed.

In 1846, aged only 22, Kelvin returned to Glasgow to become Professor of Natural Philosophy. He remained in this post for 53 years. Keen to see students involved in practical experiment, he established what became the first university physics laboratory.

Kelvin continued to study the nature of heat. He realised that it would be useful to be able to define extremely low temperatures precisely. In 1848, he proposed an absolute temperature scale, now called The Kelvin Scale.

After further research, Kelvin formulated the second law of thermodynamics. This states that heat will not flow from a colder to a hotter body.

His interest in the transmission of electricity prompted Kelvin's appointment as Director of the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856.

The company was to install a cable under the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Cable Expeditions in 1857, 1858 and 1865 failed, but communication by cable finally succeeded in 1866.

Kelvin received a knighthood for his efforts in this project.

From 1870 onwards, Kelvin spent many summers on his yacht 'Lalla Rookh', and invented several marine instruments to improve navigation and safety. He introduced a mariner's compass more accurate than any other in existence, and a machine to predict tide levels worldwide.

In 1884 Kelvin travelled to the United States to give a series of lectures. These were enthusiastically received, and were published in 1904 as the 'Baltimore Lectures'.

Kelvin became a Lord in 1892 and took the name Kelvin because of his Glasgow connections. By the time of his death in 1907, he was an international celebrity, widely respected and honoured.

His success as a synthesizer of theories about energy places him in the same position in 19th-century physics as Sir Isaac Newton has in 17th-century physics or Albert Einstein in 20th-century physics.

[toofarforgotten90]

Regional languages in the UK

This questionnaire is part of an analysis of overall attitudes towards the regional minority languages of the UK: Cornish, Irish, Manx, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster-Scots and Welsh, according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. It is aimed at UK citizens with a right to vote. This is an anonymous survey. Although certain personal details will be gathered to conform statistic data, your identity will not be registered or used. Data collected from this questionnaire will only be used for a final MA research project in linguistics. No political or any other interests are associated. Politically connected items are only included for the sake of the research project. They will not be used for any other cause. They are simply additional information, though not the basis for this research. There are no right or wrong answers. Simply give us your anonymous point of view. At the end, you will be able to give us further feedback (optional). If you are interested in receiving a report on the findings from this survey, please fill in the final item. Feel free to share with other people who might be interested in filling in this questionnaire. Thank you very much for your time and interest. It will be deeply appreciated. Please, answer the following questions. It will only take 10 minutes.

[blog-of-tahuti]

Right, so

What the fuck is Cú Chulainn‘s accent

[scotianostra]

Anne Louise McIlroy, was born on 11th November 1874 in County Antrim. 

Usually known as Louise McIlroy, she may not be Scottish, but she was heavily involved in our history, she was one of the first female medical students at the university of Glasgow, winning class prizes in both medicine and pathology before obtaining her degree in 1898. 

After further postgraduate work throughout Europe specialising in Gynaecology and Obstetrics she was appointed Gynaecological Surgeon at the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow, a post she held from 1906 to 1910.

At the outbreak of the First World War she and other female medical graduates offered their services to the government. They were declined on grounds of the battlefield being no place for women. Undeterred and determined to help with the war effort this brave group of women applied to the French government and, on being accepted, set up the Scottish Women's Hospital for Foreign Service. McIlroy commanded a unit of the hospital at Troyes in France before being posted to Serbia and three years later Salonika. 

During her time in Salonika she established a nurses training school for Serbian girls and oversaw the establishment of the only orthopaedic centre in the Eastern Army. She finished her war service as a Surgeon at a Royal Army Medical Corps hospital in Constantinople.

After the war she returned for a short time to Glasgow, but left in 1921 when she was appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the London School of Medicine for Women, becoming the first woman to be appointed a medical professor in United Kingdom. She faced opposition at times in this role, being as she was a graduate from a different medical school and one outside of London. She was undaunted by the task, however, and became an inspiring teacher.

I'm not one to usually post about the honours system, but Anne Louise McIlroy is an exception, she was awarded an OBE in 1920 and was made a Dame in 1929. For her wartime service she was awarded a number of medals including the French Croix de Guerre.

She also worked as a Surgeon at the Marie Curie Hospital for Women during this period. She retired in 1934, to have, in her own words 'a few years of freedom'. She felt strongly though about doing her duty and when war was declared she immediately offered her services, despite being well past retirement age. She organised emergency maternity services in Buckinghamshire and, showing her generous nature, selflessly took her own property to provide equipment and comforts at the hospital in the face of the inevitable shortages. After the Second World War she returned to her retirement, residing with her sister in Turnberry, Ayrshire. She died peacefully in a Glasgow hospital on 8th February 1968.

In her obituaries at the time friends and colleagues remembered her fondly as in innovator and shrewd clinician whose personal charm and dignity shone through. Her achievements show that she truly was a pioneer of women in medicine, who, as one colleague recalls, expected no less from her staff;

"Dame Louise was a hard taskmaster. She expected, and got, the very best from her staff; praise and criticism were justly awarded. To have worked for and with her was a privilege truly sought after by young aspiring specialists."

Dame Anne Louise McIlroy was a remarkable woman who gave so much during the two world wars. Her achievements have left their mark on the medical profession, shaping the way for future generations and ensuring that her legacy will live on.

If you want to know more about strong Scottish women, both past and present check out Outstanding Women of Scotland on the excellent Saltire Society page where dozens are added every year.....https://www.saltiresociety.org.uk/awards/outstanding-women/outstanding-women-of-scotland-community/2015-celebration/

[citizen69]

Travel guide to the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland. Circa 1950′s. Issued by the Travel Association.

[citizen69]

Vintage book cover for influential publication Ulster Sails West by W.F. Marshall. A book regarding the Ulster-Scots pioneers in colonial America. 

[ulsterhistoricalfoundation]

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