It is one of the ironies of British empire rule that having settled Ulster with people of the Protestant faith, it was not long until the British were persecuting these Scotch Irish residents of the Plantation for holding to their dissenting Presbyterianism.

Even more galling to the Orangemen (as they came to be called after the Revolution of 1688 ) were the trade restrictions imposed by the English as though on "foreigners." The transplanted Scotch-Irish had made agriculture and stock-raising thrive on the rocky hills of Ulster. They had introduced flax growing and built a high-quality linen industry, and were engaging in superior woolen manufacture. Deprived of the right to export their goods even to the motherland or the other English colonies or to import from anywhere but England, their source of a livelihood was narrowed to bare subsistence.

In 1609 there was an increasing hardship occasioned by the spread of a British form of land tenure, called the feu , which had the effect of dispossessing many farmers of their traditional lands in Scotland. These farmers were attracted to the lands visible across the channel from the shores of southwestern Scotland. Any Scot who had the inclination might now take the short journey across to Ulster and there, acquire a holding of land reputed by current Scotch Irish men to be far more fertile and productive than any he was likely to know in his own country. In an effort to gain control, England also in the early 1600s created a huge plantation in Northern Ireland, by opening up an area for settlement by "true Englishmen."Few from England took up the challenge, but it was a rare opportunity for the poor people of the Scottish lowlands who had been traveling back and forth anyway to improve their lot, and thousands of Scots made the move.

Only 30 miles separated the lower coast of Scotland from the coastline of Ulster , so they didn't have far to go. By 1612 ships were traveling back and forth with the frequency of a ferry. It should be noted here that people in Ulster and Scotland had been interacting for many years across this small stretch of water, the reason for this is simple, it was an easy crossing compared to "Black Pig's Dyke"

It was built between Ulster and Connacht in the first century AD (0 - 100 AD). It is also known in Cavan as 'the worm ditch', because according to local folklore it was made by a giant worm wriggling across the land. There is a good example of the dyke on the slopes of Ardkill Hill, 3.5 miles east of Ballinagh.

Described on maps as the Dane's Cast, the wall begins in the east near Scarva on the Down-Armagh border; the next section, known as the Dorsey, stands at Drummill Bridge in south Armagh; it continues into Monaghan near Muckno Lake; and further short stretches extend through Cavan and Fermanagh to Donegal Bay. It was dangerous and impassable, so the short journey to Scotland was by any person of the days mind the only real option. This strengthens the beliefs of many that Ulster has always been different from the rest of the island of Ireland, in other words it never was "United" and in particular has had stronger links with Scotland than with the South.

The North Channel was not a barrier in ancient times - it's only some twenty miles wide at its narrowest point - it was a maritime highway which was regularly crossed by folk moving and settling in both directions. On the other hand, thick forests, boggy country ,large earthworks and Black Pig's Dyke served to cut Ulster off from the rest of the island. Ireland was only governed as a single entity from Dublin Castle under British rule Partition in 1921. United ?

Now back to the move, the result was probably not exactly what the English kings envisioned, as these Scotsmen brought their personalities and religious convictions with them. They were Presbyterians, stubbornly independent and much opposed to declaring allegiance to the established Church of England. From 1634 onward to 1690, life for the colonists of Ulster was to consist of a series of crises, some of them so prolonged and sever that the very existence of the Scottish settlements were threatened. The trouble had two causes: religious exactions from England and Irish uprisings. Under the Jesuits the Irish people had become fervently Catholic; to them the Protestants of Ulster were heretics as well as interlopers.

In 1632, Charles I demanded the Presbyterians join the Church of England. All those who disagreed with his demands were called "Dissenters." This policy met with such resistance that an army was raised to force Scots out of Ulster. Some emigrated to America; others went home to Scotland. Those who remained faced imprisonment. The Irish resented the intrusion of Scottish interlopers in Ireland, and their resentment exploded in 1641 in bitter insurrection, when an estimated 250,000 Scotch Irish Protestants where massacred by the Irish.

The Church of Ireland (same as the Church of England, except in name), laid a heavy hand on the Dissenters. Presbyterian ministers could only preach within certain limits, and were liable to be fined, deported, or imprisoned. They could not legally unite a couple in marriage, and at times could only preach at night and in a barn. The "Black Oath" of 1639 required all Protestants of Ulster above the age of 16 to bind themselves to an implicit obedience to all royal commands whatsoever.

As already stated, in 1641, the Catholic clergy decided to wage an all out religious war against the Scotch-Irish. Catholic priests declared Protestants to be devils and deemed it to be a mortal sin for a Catholic to protect a Protestant. The Pope even supported the plan to destroy the Scotch-Irish. On 23 October 1641, Catholics undertook a campaign to wipe out Ulster homesteaders. Less than two months later the Scots sent a desperate letter to the English Parliament asking for help. They stated they were in a miserable condition, and the rebels increased in men and munitions daily. All manner of cruelties and torment were brought upon the Protestants. "Cutting off their ears, fingers, and hands, boiling the hands of little children before their mother's faces, stripping women naked, and ripping them up."

Within 10 years, the population of the Scotch Irish in Ulster, had reached around eight thousand plus what was already there from many years of . Despite every vicissitude, including massacres and war, the Plantation gradually grew strong and proved to be a success. If one cause more than any other can be singled out for its success, it would be the presence, the persistence, and the industry of the Scots in the region.

After thousands of years of interaction with Scotland and several generations actually living in Ulster, these people could no longer be correctly called Scotsmen, yet nor could they be called Irishmen. Their pioneering spirit, and the environment of Ireland had changed them. Yet, they were also much different from the native Irishmen who were staunchly Catholic.

The Presbyterian Scotch Irish did not intermarry with the Catholic Irish in Ulster. The rector of the Parish of Dungiven, in county of Derry, writing in 1814 says:

"The inhabitants of the parish are divided into two races of men, as totally distinct as if they belonged to different countries and regions. The Scotch Irish include the descendants of all the Scotch and English colonists who have emigrated hither since the time of James I and the Irish comprehending the native and original inhabitants of the country. Than these, no two classes of men can be more distinct. The Scotch Irish are remarkable for their comfortable houses and appearance, regular conduct, and perseverance in business, and their being almost entirely manufacturers; the Irish, on the other hand, are more negligent in their habitations, less regular and guarded in their conduct, and have a total indisposition to manufacture. Both are industrious but the industry of the Scotch Irish is steady and patient, and directed with foresight, while that of the Irish is rash, adventurous, and variable."

James I had encouraged the planting of Ulster with new settlers to make Ireland a civil place. Archbishop Synge estimated that by 1715, 50,000 Scotch families had settled in Ulster since the 1641 revolution (civil war).

The reasons for the Scotch Irish exodus from Ireland are numerous and complicated. Loss of the one hundred year leases they were originally granted by the King of Ireland, high taxation, fever and sickness and, most importantly, religious persecution, combined to make their adopted homeland a less than hospitable host. The 18th century witnessed a steady migration of the Protestant inhabitants of Ulster, and by estimation a third of the population crossed the Atlantic. This exodus was led by several energetic and non-conformist Presbyterian ministers who maintained ongoing communications with supporters in New England from as early as the 1630s