Ulster-Scots tributes to country music heroine Dolly Parton after her death from cancer at age of 80
Country music fans across Northern Ireland are mourning the loss of one of the genre’s biggest names: Dolly Parton.
Among those voicing their condolences is the Ulster-Scots Agency, which noted the “Scotch-Irish hillbilly” roots of the singer, who has died aged 80 after being diagnosed with cancer.
She hailed from the Great Smoky Mountains area of east Tennessee, part of the Appalachian region of the USA where many Ulster-Scots emigrants settled.
According to the website Who Do You Think You Are (linked to the BBC show of the same name), the late Dolly had English, Welsh, and Scottish ancestry too.
The Ulster-Scots Agency said: “People across the Ulster-Scots community and beyond will be deeply saddened by news of the passing of Dolly Parton, the Queen of Country Music, who has died at the age of 80.
"The music icon, who sold over 100 million records in a career spanning more than six decades, was an acclaimed songwriter as well as singer, penning more than 3,000 songs, including ‘9 to 5’, ‘Jolene’, ‘Coat of Many Colours’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’, which sold over 40 million records for Dolly and Whitney Houston.
"She was highly acclaimed for her music and acting, earning 11 Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, a Tony Awards, two Academy Awards nominations and honorary Oscar for her humanitarian work, which included the establishment of Dollywood and Dolly's Imagination Library, which promotes literacy in memory of her father Lee, who never learned to read or write.
"Dolly was hugely proud of her roots as a Scotch-Irish hillbilly, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and after finding stardom she did much to help the community where she had grown up in poverty.
"When she played Belfast in 2002, she declared: 'With my Scotch-Irish ancestry, it's ridiculous that I haven't been here before'.
"Dolly Parton leaves behind a giant legacy that will ensure she is remembered long into the future.”
In 2002 Dr Philip Robinson, today the honorary vice-president of the Ulster-Scots Language Society, had translated Dolly’s 1976 hit Jolene into Ulster-Scots to coincide with her visit to the city.
The Ulster-Scots Community Network said today that hers was an “incredible life and legacy,” adding that she was “a true music icon with a special connection to Ulster-Scots”.
Dave McCausland of the Maine Ulster-Scots Project in the USA wrote online: “Thank you for a lifetime of music…
"Dolly Parton was extremely proud of her Scotch-Irish ancestry and generously acknowledged the ‘massive influence’ of her roots on her music.
"She had stated that her father's side of the family is of Irish-Scottish / Ulster-Scots descent, tracing back to regions like Bushmills in Northern Ireland.”
The Donaghmore Historical Society of Co Tyrone called her “one of the most loved and influential figures in country music” who “rose from poverty to become an internationally celebrated singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist”.
"Her story also belongs to the long musical connection between Ulster and Appalachia.
"Generations of emigrants carried their traditional songs and ballads across the Atlantic, where they became woven into the folk, bluegrass and country music of the Appalachian Mountains.
“Dolly spoke warmly about growing up with these ancient ballads and wrote the foreword to Wayfaring Strangers, a book tracing the musical journey from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia.
"She also recorded the traditional ballad ‘Barbara Allen’ with Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh of the Donegal group Altan...
“In Co Tyrone, where country music has always found a devoted audience, Dolly Parton will be remembered with particular affection for her songs, her humour, her generosity and her extraordinary humanity.”