The failure to establish a statutory Academy at this period meant that the work that went on over the years in each of these fields was on an exclusively voluntary basis, with all the constraints that such involvement implies. Hope of a new initiative returned in 2008 when Professor John Corbett of Glasgow University agreed to write a draft report [1] and recommendations for the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee. In it, he suggested that an institute or centre for research and teaching that focused on the Scots language in Ulster and the West of Scotland should be set up. This Centre of Excellence would have been drawn from staff of three contributing universities, the University of Glasgow, the University of Ulster and the Queen’s University of Belfast.

Ian Paisley and I met the then Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Gregory Campbell MP MLA, on 23^rd July 2008 to discuss this proposal. We were well received and a meeting between Professor Corbett and the Minister’s officials was arranged. The Minister wrote to me on 15^th August 2008 informing me that this meeting had taken place on 12^th August 2008. Arrangements were made for him to meet Deloitte who were in the process of refreshing the business case for the Ulster-Scots Academy and this meeting was described as “very useful”. Officials were to develop a paper for the Minister’s consideration and he had asked them that Professor Corbett’s proposals should receive due consideration in the development of that paper. 

This initiative has since been progressed. On 23^rd March 2010, the then Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Nelson McCausland MLA, eventually announced his plans for the Ulster-Scots Academy. Speaking at North Down Museum in Bangor, County Down he talked of the importance of Ulster-Scots as one of Northern Ireland’s main cultural traditions. I attended on the invitation of the Ulster-Scots Agency of which I was a member. Among the subjects broached on this occasion was the creation of a Ministerial Advisory Group to develop an Academy. Referring to this presentation, the Northern Ireland Executive site goes on to explain: 

“The initiative has three strands: Language and Literature; History, Heritage and Culture; and Education and Research.”

The Minister added: “I believe great damage has been done to the development of the sector by opponents who have sought to characterise this as being all about the status of the Ulster-Scots language. Clearly, it is about much more than that – this is a rich and vibrant culture which has shaped many aspects of life in Northern Ireland [2].” 

And so it came to pass that Minister McCausland announced the appointment of a Ministerial Advisory Group for the Ulster-Scots Academy. Following open competitions for the appointment of a Chairman and four new Members, these were appointed with immediate effect for a period of up to four years. Yet another four members to “represent the Ulster-Scots Sector” were appointed by the Minister himself. As it turned out, however, the group was actually a very good, indeed excellent, one, although whether it ever produces a statutory Ulster-Scots Academy remains to be seen [3] 

At the launch of the “MAGUSA”, on 24^th March 2011, the Minister reiterated the tripartite basis if the strategy 

“This group has been established to provide advice on the strategic development of the Ulster-Scots sector and to rapidly build confidence within the sector by progressing projects under the three streams of activity for the proposed Ulster-Scots Academy, i.e. Language and Literature; History, Heritage and Culture; and Education and Research [4].” 

Although we wish this excellent initiative well in its attempts to establish a statutary Ulster-Scots Academy in Northern Ireland, it remains difficult to see how the damage done to the Ulster-Scots movement over the years can be rectified at this stage. Actually, most of the blame must surely lie with those who were imbued with narrow sectarian and political attitudes – in some cases bizarrely so, particularly British Israelite theories –, some of whom achieved high status in government and stifled any attempt to promote the true ideals of the Ulster-Scots movement, while always remaining astute enough to present themselves as non-political and non-sectarian.