ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
This public television documentary will blend narrative and music performance to explore how the people who came to be known as the Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish have influenced democracy in America.

SYNOPSIS
THE SCOTS-IRISH: A MUSICAL JOURNEY, a two-hour documentary for PBS with related material for digital media, will explore how the Scotch-Irish have influenced America’s democratic traditions, conflicts and values in ways that remain relevant today, with the same spirit reflected in their traditional music. The format will blend narrative with music performance to unfold the story. Although ours is at heart an American story, we will devote significant attention to the history of this group’s forebears in Scotland and Ireland to provide context.

Our film will not be ancestor-worship, but rather an objective, exhaustively researched history based on solid scholarship. We have enlisted as consultants some of the world’s most eminent scholars in Ulster-Scots/Scotch-Irish history, music, and culture.

For a 100-year period beginning in 1717, more than a half-million people left Ireland’s northern province of Ulster in quest of a better life in America. They were largely the Protestant descendants of Scottish settlers who had colonized the north of Ireland for the British Crown in the 1600s. The people commonly referred to in America as the “Scotch-Irish" (the term used by the majority of Americans claiming this ancestry) or "Scots-Irish" became one of the dominant European groups populating the American colonies. They are among the ancestors of probably most white and many nonwhite Americans in the South and West today.

Liberal democracy is under threat in the United States and around the world. Autocratic movements are aggressively trying to subvert enlightened representative democracy in favor of fascist authoritarianism. By exploring the important place of one ethnic immigrant group in America’s democratic history, our media project will enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of the principles of freedom and equality underlying the constitutional republic our Founding Fathers created in the U.S. as a model for all freedom-loving nations.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR David Hughes Duke
SCREENWRITER Chris Moser
PRODUCER Chris Moser, David Hughes Duke
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Carol Moser

WEBSITE americasotherirish.com

The Film Collaborative (TFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing programs and services for independent filmmakers. TFC’s federal tax ID number is 32-0295081. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Support a TFC Fiscal Sponsorship Project

Please help support this project with a tax deductible contribution. The “donate” button below will take you to PayPal, but a PayPal account is not required to make a donation. You can check out 2 ways:

1. Use your PayPal account
2. Check out as a guest by selecting “Donate with a Debit or Credit Card” (no PayPal account is required)

Transaction Fee

Please consider covering the PayPal transaction fee by selecting the “I’d like to add to my donation to help offset the cost of processing” box on the next page. This will ensure your intended full donation amount will be received for the project.

Alternate Donation Payment Methods

If you prefer to donate by check, Zelle, ACH, or wire transfer, please email us for instructions.

Stock Donations

TFC accepts stock donations. By donating stock that has appreciated for more than a year, you are giving 20% more than if you sold the stock and then made a cash donation, since you will not pay capital gains taxes on the donated stock. Learn more here.

Please email us for instructions to donate stock to a fiscally sponsored project.

Donor Advised Fund (DAF) Donations

A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is like a charitable investment account for the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations. TFC accepts DAF donations and is on file with most major DAF companies. Provide your DAF TFC’s Tax ID: 32-0295081. If we are already on file with your DAF company, they will process the donation.

Tax Receipts

In compliance with IRS rules, tax receipts for your charitable gift are issued for the amount The Film Collaborative receives after payment processor fees are deducted. The Film Collaborative emails tax receipts in PDF format within 30 days of your online donation. The “receipt” that is immediately sent to you from PayPal after you donate is just a payment receipt, not the tax receipt.

Matching Donations

Many companies have matching gift programs and can help you double your donation to a project of your choosing. Sometimes these programs will match a donation up to a year after it was originally made! Check with your employer—if they have a matching gift program, they will provide you with instructions.

End of Year Giving

November, December, and January are big giving months each year. Donors top up their annual giving in November and December. January is a new fiscal year, and some donors start their giving for the next fiscal year early. Some donors even give at the end of the year and again in January since these donations fall into different fiscal years.

Donors tend to make their large year-end donation decisions before the holidays start. In 2024, that means before December 20. TFC can accept donations by wire, ACH, and Zelle until 5:00pm Eastern Time on December 31. Online donations by credit or debit card can be made until 11:59pm Pacific Time on December 31.