James Fenton (5 June 1931 – 3 February 2021) was a linguist and poet who wrote in Ulster Scots.

Biography

He grew up in Drumdarragh and in Ballinaloob,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. His home language of childhood was Ulster Scots. Educated at Stranmillis College in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, and later Queen's University, he became a teacher at schools in Belfast. His poetry in Ulster Scots, at times lively, contented, wistful, was written in contemporary Ulster Scots, and particularly the dialect of Ballinaloob ("Belnaloob" in his poem ''Thonner an Thon'').

Books

James Fenton's record and study of Scots and Scots words used in Ulster, ''The Hamely Tongue'' has been published by the Ullans Press. A collection of his own poetry has been published by the Ullans Press too; ''Thonner an Thon''.''Thonner an Thon'', The Ullans Press James Fenton lived in

Glengormley Glengormley () is the name of a townland (of 215 acres) and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Glengormley is within the urban area of Newtownabbey and the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is also situated in the ...

Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement in North Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course. It surrounds Carnmoney Hill, and was formed from the merging of severa ...

Death

Fenton died on 3 February 2021, aged 89.

References

External links

The Ulster-Scots Language Society

The Hamely Tongue - Ulster-Scots Academy

The Ulster-Scots Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenton, James 1931 births 2021 deaths Male poets from Northern Ireland Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Male writers from Northern Ireland Alumni of Stranmillis University College Schoolteachers from Northern Ireland Ulster Scots-language poets