Ulster Scots poet who was ‘a towering influence’

Dr Frank Ferguson said that Fenton was a towering figure within the language community.

“Jim, as well as being a poet, was a preserver of the language. His work cannot be underestimated in terms of its significance”, he said.

Mr Fenton, who was born near Ballymoney in 1931, passed away at his home in Glengormley and was responsible for The Hamely Tongue, A Personal Record of Ulster Scots in County Antrim, first published in 1995.

The work has been revised and reprinted a number of times, and James Fenton was assisted in the East Antrim area by the well-known local history enthusiast and folklorist, the late Sam Cross of Larne.

Sam Cross covered the Ballynure, Loughmourne, Raloo, Kilwaughter and other areas of East Antrim including his native Magheramorne in compiling words and usage guides for the Hamely Tongue.

He then helped promote the Ulster Scots County Antrim dictionary in the Larne area.

The work was also assisted by the late Margaret McCurdy of Racavan, Broughshane, a former teacher at Larne High School.

Mr Fenton published two collections of poetry in addition to The Hamely Tongue, ‘Thonner an Thon’ and ‘On Slaimish’.

He was President of the Ulster-Scots Language Society and the Ulster-Scots Academy and Carrickfergus-born academic Dr Philip Robinson, another leading figure in the Ulster Scots community said: “He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. His legacy is not a thing of the past, but is a living and homely record of a language that continues to bear fruit.”

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Click here to read: Blue plaque tribute to Larne’s Ulster Scots studies founder

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