What’s on in Ireland for May 2012 - a round up of the top events happening around the country

The joke I was making is that the Scots are known for being tight, therefore it wouldn’t be surprising if they were reluctant to share some of their culture. As for it being the “most celebrated culture in the world”, well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I won’t convince you otherwise. Are you denying that Ireland has had a major cultural impact on Scotland? There may not be many Gaelic speakers left in Scotland, but the legacy of that language is still evident in many of the place names, legends and cultural pursuits of Scotland; are you saying that the Gaelic language is not a significant part of Scottish culture? Have you heard of Píobaireachd or Ceól Mór? Think about the game of shinty (camanachd) which resulted from a cultural exchange between Ireland and Scotland. You say the Scots developed ‘uisce beatha’ independently of Ireland, if you want to believe that fine. I would argue that it was merely one of many cultural gifts the island of Ireland shared with Scotland, and one day you will learn how to make it properly! Considering you find it so difficult to credit Ireland with such obvious contributions to Scottish culture, it isn’t surprising that you are holding onto the pipes as being exclusively Scottish. However uilleann pipes are not the only pipes associated with Ireland. Finally, Edinburgh is a beautiful city.

Firstly, the Scots are best known for their greatest asset - their intelligence. You can thanks the Scots for modern technology such as the television, telephone, radar systems, steam engine, penicillin as well as the most recognizable and most celebrated culture in the world. Secondly, Kinvara, I have no idea where you are pulling this information from. I'm a historian (lecturer) and there is no recorded evidence of any form of bagpipe, similar to that of the Highland, being active in 15th century Ireland. Ireland has shared so much culture with Scotland? Only a tiny minority of people in Scotland speak Gaelic (less than 2% of the population) whilst the majority of us speak our national language of Scots or Doric. With regard to whiskey, the Scots created their own whisky with no influence from Ireland, and Scotch just so happens to be the world's best-selling spirit after vodka. I have no issues with the Irish whatsoever, but when it comes to Plastic Paddy Americans celebrating their Irish heritage with Scottish culture, that's when we begin to make a fuss. The Irish populated many parts of North America along with the Italians, Jewish and French, while the Scots populated the South.

Is Éireannach mé. Cén post atá agat arís? Tosaíonn tú: ‘I am a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh’, ceart go leor, ach ceapaim tá tú ach cur I gcéill…ach b´fhéidir é (Nárab ea!). Gabh mo leithscéal, MacGregor, an bhfuil an Ghaeilge deacair, dar leat? Anyway, I’m Irish born and bred and I have had the good fortune to live in Ireland all my life. Are the Scots getting tired of us stealing their culture? One would have thought, considering Ireland has shared so much of its culture (the Gaelic language; whiskey; Gaelic sports etc.,) with that part of Great Britain today known as Scotland, that the Scots would have been eager to return the favour. Then again, what is it that the Scots are known for?!

@MacGregor: The old Irish bagpipe or píob mhór was inflated by the mouth, and was in every respect the same as the Highland bagpipe of today. A 15th century Irish manuscript telling the tale of Fireabas, says at one point “let horns and pipes (piba) be played by you to gather your host.” I believe there is a painting still preserved in Vienna of an Irish piper, by the celebrated Albrecht Dürer, dated 1514. In Holinshed’s Chronicles (1577) for May 1544: “In the same moneth also passed through the citie of London in warlike manner, to the number of seaven hundred Irishmen, having for their weapons darts and handguns with bagpipes before them: and in St. James Park besides Westminster they mustered before the king.” In a poem by John O'Naughton (c. 1650-1728), he refers to the píob mhór. In John Derrick's "The image of Ireland" (1581) a bagpipe is clearly depicted. Later the Irish began to utilise a different type of instument called the uilleann pipe; distinguished from many other forms of bagpipes by their tone and wide range of notes. However as regards the Piob Mhor, it is a pan-Gaelic instrument and while there have been some distinctions over the years, its traditions in Ireland and Scotland are comparable.

You are wrong - I am a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh where my passion is Scottish history and culture. The only bagpipes ever recorded as being Irish are the Uilleann which are played by the knee and come without a band or Scottish Highland wear. You are a typical Irish-American who clearly does not understand your culture well enough. Stick to green hats and rainbows, the Scots are getting tired of you lot stealing their culture.

Bagpipes are a part of Irish culture too; they are a pan-Gaelic instrument. I think I took you through this before.

Highland Bagpipes and Highland kilts are SCOTTISH, not Irish!