THE numbers of Irish people in Northern Ireland engaging with their culture and heritage are on the decline.
That's according to a report on the experience of Irish and Ulster Scots culture and heritage by adults, released by the Department for Communities.
In its findings, just over one in five people engaged with their Irish culture and heritage in the last year, down from almost one in four in previous years.
According to the report, women were more likely than men to have participated in an Irish cultural activity, such as a féile, playing traditional music, an Irish dancing class, a Fleadh Cheoil, an Irish language or feis, or an Irish language class.
Over six in every ten adults had some understanding of Irish culture and traditions, while almost one-fifth stated that they understood Irish culture and traditions a lot.
For Ulster-Scots, just over one in 10 adults had engaged with Ulster-Scots culture and heritage within the previous year, a six per cent decrease in previous years.
One in every ten Protestant adults participated in an Ulster-Scots cultural activity within the previous year, a higher proportion than both Catholic adults and those of other religions.
The most frequently cited Ulster-Scots cultural event that adults attended in the previous year were an Ulster-Scots parade, ‘a festival celebrating Ulster-Scots; an Ulster-Scots band competition, and an Ulster-Scots concert.
Forty-one per cent of adults had some understanding of Ulster-Scots culture and traditions, while just under a third stated that they had no understanding at all.
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