Scottish Independence discussion area

cloudatlas

discus wrote: »

They don't realise that the financial nexus that is london city is what gives the currency (and the union) the power and status in international relations.

When the financial crisis hit the U.K. the main lender was the U.S. The U.K. is better together financially Westminster know this. Everything that they have said about the currency has turned out to be scaremongering. Do you think the Americans would be happy if the Bank of England decided to leave the Scots out in the cold?

Scotland is part of the E.U. it passed all the requirements. It prints it's own legal tender and it is an integral part of the U.K. economically. This is all scaremongering and idle threats from the conservatives and the eurocrats and it's sad to see so many people regurgitating these fallacies in this thread.

Andrew_Doran

Sorry to go off topic but..

Paramite Pie wrote: »

When Ireland achieved Independence, we had arrangements made to use the British pound for an interim period until a new currency was established.

We used sterling until 1978, in the form of the Irish pound with our own distinct notes and coins.

The interim currency we had was the punt (1978-2002 or 1999 depending on viewpoint) which was always intended as a stepping stone to European monetary union, what we now know as the euro.

The snap decision to switch was made by dept. of finance officials, in a hissy fit at not being invited to a meeting in Europe, while at the same time they were saying it was against our economic interests to do so.

kingchess

scotland can peg their money to the pound just like Ireland did but the UK says that they will not agree to sharing the pound, ie . currency union.

Andrew_Doran

kingchess wrote: »

scotland can peg their money to the pound just like Ireland did but the UK says that they will not agree to sharing the pound, ie . currency union.

For historical context in Ireland's case we did have what was in effect a currency union, the Sterling Area, although it came about some time after independence.. I don't know if it exists any more, surely they use sterling on the Isle of Man at least (not part of the UK).

Paramite Pie

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

No, Barroso shot this one down. Scotland would have to totally reapply from scratch.

I was actually talking about the UK not the EU lol...

anishboi wrote: »

It's funny the way that Salmond wants to become independent, yet keep the pound, trade and even the queen.

Even he might subconsciously still feel british?

When he mentioned that about keeping the queen, I was wondering what the whole point in independence was. I thought the reason he wanted to split was because he wanted Scotland to become a republic?

Australia and Canada kept the Queen. Would you argue that those countries are not independent? The Australian and Canadian parliaments do not answer to Westminster but keep the Monarch as the figure head.

Also the Queen is directly descended from King James VI of Scotland, who created the Kingdom of Britain. So the Queen is still the legitimate monarch under Scottish law. Where do you think Prince Harry's red hair comes from?

And finally, Scotland will still be geographically British just like people in Norway and Sweden are both Scandinavian. So, Scottish people will no longer be British citizens but will still be on the island of Britain, hence therefore British (but not in a political sense).

Red Nissan

Paramite Pie wrote: »

Where do you think Prince Harry's red hair comes from?

Germany actually, as a matter of fact. Not discounting historical records, but the current Queen's family is in fact a German Family, they changed their name during WWII ~ but THAT red hair is not Scottish.

Duckworth_Luas

Paramite Pie wrote: »

Where do you think Prince Harry's red hair comes from?

James Hewitt?

:pac:

Seaneh

"scotland can't use the pound if they leave the union".

Bollocks.

Ecuador use the Dollar and they are not part of the US (as do a few other non US countries in the Americas), and it's not like the two governments are overly friendly either.

If Scotland want to peg a new currency or just carry on using the pound, there isn't much anyone can do about it without cutting their own nose off to spite their face.

Gott

Seaneh wrote: »

"scotland can't use the pound if they leave the union".

Bollocks.

Ecuador use the Dollar and they are not part of the US (as do a few other non US countries in the Americas), and it's not like the two governments are overly friendly either.

If Scotland want to peg a new currency or just carry on using the pound, there isn't much anyone can do about it without cutting their own nose off to spite their face.

The problem with this is that Scotland has no say in the management of the currency at all, so any decisions made by the Bank of England/rUK will be made without any regard to Scotland, same way that America does not consult Ecuador or Zimbabwe or wherever uses the US dollar when it decides to print off another trillion of them to service their debt.
That could prove very problematic for Scotland.

Scotland would be better in a currency union if it decides not to adopt its own currency, and due to the fact it and rUK would share an island and be each other's largest trading partners, if a yes vote goes through for all the blustering I imagine a deal would be made.

Seaneh

Gott wrote: »

The problem with this is that Scotland has no say in the management of the currency at all, so any decisions made by the Bank of England/rUK will be made without any regard to Scotland, same way that America does not consult Ecuador or Zimbabwe or wherever uses the US dollar when it decides to print off another trillion of them to service their debt.
That could prove very problematic for Scotland.

Scotland would be better in a currency union if it decides not to adopt its own currency, and due to the fact it and rUK would share an island and be each other's largest trading partners, if a yes vote goes through for all the blustering I imagine a deal would be made.

I know it wouldn't be ideal to not have a say, but they couldn't be stopped from using the currency. But yeah, as you said, it wouldn't be in either sides interest to not have a common currency, for various reasons, despite westminster's posturing.

folbotcar

I'll be brutally frank. The Scottish will vote no. They'll vote no because they sold their sold their soul to the English many years ago. Not that the English care. The English could give a dam.

The Scots have no guts, no real sense of their nationhood. They will continue to sponge off the English taxpayer because they know no better. They have been balmoralised.

I speak as an Irishman who is proud of his Irishness but doesn't hate the English but is disgusted at the way the Scots have sold their souls to the devil, particularly in Northern Ireland.

The Scots are cowards, yes cowards. They are afraid to go it alone. They have suckled at the teat of London so long they cannot imagine a world were they can go it alone.

If I was a Scotsman I would be ashamed of my country.

The Pheasant2

Would love to see a Yes vote, if only to see what would happen - would be a very interesting time for politics.

Sadly, I fear they'll go for no

anishboi

Paramite Pie wrote: »

I was actually talking about the UK not the EU lol...




Australia and Canada kept the Queen. Would you argue that those countries are not independent? The Australian and Canadian parliaments do not answer to Westminster but keep the Monarch as the figure head.

Also the Queen is directly descended from King James VI of Scotland, who created the Kingdom of Britain. So the Queen is still the legitimate monarch under Scottish law. Where do you think Prince Harry's red hair comes from?

And finally, Scotland will still be geographically British just like people in Norway and Sweden are both Scandinavian. So, Scottish people will no longer be British citizens but will still be on the island of Britain, hence therefore British (but not in a political sense).

But how does that explain the use of the pound sterling and Bank of England?

If Scotland continues to use that, then it automatically means that the Scottish and English economies are somewhat intertwined and if Scotland goes into debt then England will be burdened too.

I doubt Westminster would let them use it though.

I don't fully agree with the argument that Scotland is "equally entitled" to the Bank of England, as they have their own bank of Scotland , but I do believe that the Scottish have significantly contributed to the BOE.

Roger_007

folbotcar wrote: »

I'll be brutally frank. The Scottish will vote no. They'll vote no because they sold their sold their soul to the English many years ago. Not that the English care. The English could give a dam.

The Scots have no guts, no real sense of their nationhood. They will continue to sponge off the English taxpayer because they know no better. They have been balmoralised.

I speak as an Irishman who is proud of his Irishness but doesn't hate the English but is disgusted at the way the Scots have sold their souls to the devil, particularly in Northern Ireland.

The Scots are cowards, yes cowards. They are afraid to go it alone. They have suckled at the teat of London so long they cannot imagine a world were they can go it alone.

If I was a Scotsman I would be ashamed of my country.

I agree that the Scots will probably vote no in the referendum. Most people will vote for what they perceive is their best economic interest. Bread on the table will always trump nationalist sentiment, (provided that the political system is reasonably free and fair).
All they have to do is look at the example of the Ireland. After nearly 100 years of 'independence' the Republic of Ireland has failed time and again to adequately manage its own economic affairs.
The Scots are not cowards, they are realists. The majority of them will vote with their wallets.

Richard

folbotcar wrote: »

I'll be brutally frank. The Scottish will vote no. They'll vote no because they sold their sold their soul to the English many years ago. Not that the English care. The English could give a dam.

The Scots have no guts, no real sense of their nationhood. They will continue to sponge off the English taxpayer because they know no better. They have been balmoralised.

I speak as an Irishman who is proud of his Irishness but doesn't hate the English but is disgusted at the way the Scots have sold their souls to the devil, particularly in Northern Ireland.

The Scots are cowards, yes cowards. They are afraid to go it alone. They have suckled at the teat of London so long they cannot imagine a world were they can go it alone.

If I was a Scotsman I would be ashamed of my country.

Many Scots do not share that depiction. Many are proud to be British, part of the UK. And whilst more would be proud to be Scottish than proud to be British, the pragmatists make up the difference.

Very few would agree with your assertion that being part of the UK means they have sold their sole to the devil. Scotland has had more representation in UK cabinets than it's population warrants and devolution gives it the best of both worlds. I was listening to an SNP minister answer questions about how Scotland would cope on its own in x y and z. He kept saying that Scotland would come to bilateral agreements on these issues with the remaining UK. Doesn't sound like independence to me.

FTA69

folbotcar wrote: »

I'll be brutally frank. The Scottish will vote no. They'll vote no because they sold their sold their soul to the English many years ago. Not that the English care. The English could give a dam.

The Scots have no guts, no real sense of their nationhood. They will continue to sponge off the English taxpayer because they know no better. They have been balmoralised.

I speak as an Irishman who is proud of his Irishness but doesn't hate the English but is disgusted at the way the Scots have sold their souls to the devil, particularly in Northern Ireland.

The Scots are cowards, yes cowards. They are afraid to go it alone. They have suckled at the teat of London so long they cannot imagine a world were they can go it alone.

If I was a Scotsman I would be ashamed of my country.

What century are we in again??

cloudatlas

folbotcar wrote: »

I'll be brutally frank. The Scottish will vote no. They'll vote no because they sold their sold their soul to the English many years ago. Not that the English care. The English could give a dam.

The Scots have no guts, no real sense of their nationhood. They will continue to sponge off the English taxpayer because they know no better. They have been balmoralised.

I speak as an Irishman who is proud of his Irishness but doesn't hate the English but is disgusted at the way the Scots have sold their souls to the devil, particularly in Northern Ireland.

The Scots are cowards, yes cowards. They are afraid to go it alone. They have suckled at the teat of London so long they cannot imagine a world were they can go it alone.

If I was a Scotsman I would be ashamed of my country.

No at the moment all the taxes are being sent to London and being dispersed back to the Scottish, they are concerned about how they are being dispersed back to them. Once the Welsh and the Scottish tax goes to London is it magically transformed into English tax???

Well they've come a long way the fact that they are having a referendum at all shows that they have a lot more guts than others. The Welsh are watching this very closely.

Madam

Can I just remind everyone its not just the Scots who will be voting in the referendum - there are many nationalities who live in Scotland with the right to vote;) Oh and by the way a vote for or against independence is not a vote for or against Mr Salmond.

Balmed Out

folbotcar wrote: »

They will continue to sponge off the English taxpayer because they know no better.

Is that true? The rest of your post was all opinion with no way of proving or disproving it but in fairness to Scottish people why do you believe this?

According to Scotlands yes campaign..
Scotland has generated more tax per person than the rest of the UK in each and every one of the last 30 years. There are up 24 billion barrels of oil still to be extracted from the North Sea with a wholesale value of up to £1.5 trillion. That’s more than ten times Scotland's likely share of national debt.

pablomakaveli

I'd like to see Scotland go independent because if they do i hopefully won't have to go up there with work anymore.

On a more serious note though i don't think the Scots will go through with it. As has been said they have the best of both worlds with a say in Westminister and their own devolved parliament. The Yes side is making a lot of noise at the moment but when it comes down to voting day and actually deciding is this best for Scotland, i think a lot of people will decide no.

bnt

What is all this talk of "The Scots", as if they are in some alien hive mind and all think the same? You'd be offended if they generalised about "The Irish", wouldn't you?

pablomakaveli

bnt wrote: »

What is all this talk of "The Scots", as if they are in some alien hive mind and all think the same? You'd be offended if they generalised about "The Irish", wouldn't you?

The Scots are the people in Scotland who'll be voting for independence. And who'd the hell be offended about being called the Irish. The people in Ireland are the Irish so no more offensive.

turnikett1

pablomakaveli wrote: »

The Scots are the people in Scotland who'll be voting for independence.

lol so Unionist Scots are no longer Scottish??

LordSutch

Somethig caught my attention on the TV yesterday that hasn't been discussed much, and that is what effect will a break-up have on the rest of the UK, and in particular the North of England, who may well share a border with a brand new european country!

Has anyone asked the rest of the UK, namely the English, the Welsh & Northern Irish if they agree with Scotland leaving the union? and the unknown impact it may have on them.

turnikett1

LordSutch wrote: »

Has anyone asked the rest of the UK, namely the English, the Welsh & Northern Irish if they agree with Scotland leaving the union? and the unknown impact it may have on them.

According to NI unionists it is going to have 0 affect on their relationshop with the rUK and they will be as staunchly unionist as ever. Which kinda baffles me, seeing as most of them are Scots descent and not English/Welsh.

pablomakaveli

turnikett1 wrote: »

lol so Unionist Scots are no longer Scottish??

I meant as voting on independence. Of course they're Scottish

dRNk SAnTA

anishboi wrote: »

It's funny the way that Salmond wants to become independent, yet keep the pound, trade and even the queen.

Even he might subconsciously still feel british?

When he mentioned that about keeping the queen, I was wondering what the whole point in independence was. I thought the reason he wanted to split was because he wanted Scotland to become a republic?

anishboi wrote: »

But how does that explain the use of the pound sterling and Bank of England? If Scotland continues to use that, then it automatically means that the Scottish and English economies are somewhat intertwined and if Scotland goes into debt then England will be burdened too.

I doubt Westminster would let them use it though.

Are you being intentionally naive? Full independence rarely happens on Day 1. Even in our own case in Ireland, after a war of independence - we became self governing but still had queen as head of state and a currency linked to Sterling. These links break over time.

Secondly - Scotland can continue to use the pound. They just peg their currency to Sterling. No biggie. Somebody previously said "but the Bank of England will stop taking Scotland into consideration when altering their monetary policy". As if Scotland ranks highly on the priority list of the Bank of England! The London-centric economy of the UK is exactly the reason why Scotland should leave!

I am pie

turnikett1 wrote: »

According to NI unionists it is going to have 0 affect on their relationshop with the rUK and they will be as staunchly unionist as ever. Which kinda baffles me, seeing as most of them are Scots descent and not English/Welsh.

It might actually have a negative effect on Irish unity should enough unionist scots hop on the stranraer ferry and "re-plant" themselves in NI. Might aded a few extra votes to the No side come referendum time there.

Wild speculation, but it's possible.

buckieburd

folbotcar wrote: »

I'll be brutally frank. The Scottish will vote no. They'll vote no because they sold their sold their soul to the English many years ago. Not that the English care. The English could give a dam.

The Scots have no guts, no real sense of their nationhood. They will continue to sponge off the English taxpayer because they know no better. They have been balmoralised.

I speak as an Irishman who is proud of his Irishness but doesn't hate the English but is disgusted at the way the Scots have sold their souls to the devil, particularly in Northern Ireland.

The Scots are cowards, yes cowards. They are afraid to go it alone. They have suckled at the teat of London so long they cannot imagine a world were they can go it alone.

If I was a Scotsman I would be ashamed of my country.

The Scottish did not 'sell their soul' to the English, the vast majority of the country were strongly opposed to the union, there were many riots in opposition to it. The English basically forced the Scots into a union by threatening to bring several acts in that would of been highly detrimental to the scots. A few scots high up were essentially bribed by the English to get the vote through, they may have sold out but the Scottish people did not.

We do not 'sponge' from the English either, scotland contributes more per person than the English statistically.

Yes I am Scottish, and yes I live in Scotland and I am most definitely voting yes in September.

To say we have no sense of nationhood is just bolloks, do us a favour and dont visit....ever :-)

OneEightSeven

buckieburd wrote: »

The Scottish did not 'sell their soul' to the English, the vast majority of the country were strongly opposed to the union, there were many riots in opposition to it. The English basically forced the Scots into a union by threatening to bring several acts in that would of been highly detrimental to the scots. A few scots high up were essentially bribed by the English to get the vote through, they may have sold out but the Scottish people did not.

We do not 'sponge' from the English either, scotland contributes more per person than the English statistically.

Yes I am Scottish, and yes I live in Scotland and I am most definitely voting yes in September.

To say we have no sense of nationhood is just bolloks, do us a favour and dont visit....ever :-)

Which side do you think will win? Do you know any Scots living in Ireland who will go back home to vote?

buckieburd

OneEightSeven wrote: »

Which side do you think will win? Do you know any Scots living in Ireland who will go back home to vote?

I think it's going to go right down to the wire on voting day, I know lots of people who are still undecided. You have to be on the electrol roll to vote so you couldn't just come back to vote. Very exciting time to be living in Scotland and have the chance to make history (if we get the yes vote, please god!) :-)

Iwasfrozen

buckieburd wrote: »

I think it's going to go right down to the wire on voting day, I know lots of people who are still undecided. You have to be on the electrol roll to vote so you couldn't just come back to vote. Very exciting time to be living in Scotland and have the chance to make history (if we get the yes vote, please god!) :-)

It's not really independence is it? You will still be tied to the UK by both Monarchy and Money.

buckieburd

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

It's not really independence is it? You will still be tied to the UK by both Monarchy and Money.

It's a bloody good start :-) don't get why Salmond wants to keep the monarchy tbh, I'd get shot of them in a heartbeat!

Iwasfrozen

buckieburd wrote: »

It's a bloody good start :-) don't get why Salmond wants to keep the monarchy tbh, I'd get shot of them in a heartbeat!

Salmond probably doesn't but he realises if he campaigns on the platform of a republic he will lose. It's all realpolitik.

Skylinehead

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

It's not really independence is it? You will still be tied to the UK by both Monarchy and Money.

The monarchy thing has been disproven by Australia/Canada, keep up. And I don't think using the same currency particularly devalues independence.

Iwasfrozen

Skylinehead wrote: »

The monarchy thing has been disproven by Australia/Canada, keep up. And I don't think using the same currency particularly devalues independence.

But it's symbolic, the Parliaments of Austrailia and Canada (Canada especially) never really wanted independence and governed themselves more for convenience than nationalistic pride.

As for currency, yeah it pretty much lessens independence when you can't have any sovereign monetary policy.

Gott

I am pie wrote: »

It might actually have a negative effect on Irish unity should enough unionist scots hop on the stranraer ferry and "re-plant" themselves in NI. Might aded a few extra votes to the No side come referendum time there.

Wild speculation, but it's possible.

Good God, don't wish the hardcore unionists on anyone. I have met some reasonable Rangers fans but I'm afraid most of them have a tenuous grasp of reality like the gentlemen in this video:

(Not that I'm condoning either of the Old Firm, they both have subsets of bad fans)

Scottie99

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

If the Scots reject independence, then let me never hear them sing Flower of Scotland again.

As a Scotsman, I'll be ashamed..

fearrua

I've applied for an Erasmus place in Edinburgh for college next year, and if I get it, I'll be there for the vote. I'm sure it'll make for a good night out at least...

Herb Powell

What are the fleggers/loyalists going to do with the Scottish flags if Scotland becomes independent? It'll no longer be a sign of Britainishness!

Scottie99

fearrua wrote: »

I've applied for an Erasmus place in Edinburgh for college next year, and if I get it, I'll be there for the vote. I'm sure it'll make for a good night out at least...

I too am heading home, just get registered and do the right thing!:D

bnt

Herb Powell wrote: »

What are the fleggers/loyalists going to do with the Scottish flags if Scotland becomes independent? It'll no longer be a sign of Britainishness!

It never was a truly "British" symbol in the first place. It's worth remembering that most Settlers from the UK to Ulster were from the southwest of Scotland (roughly), and they became the Ulster Scots. So it's used to show a connection to Scotland first - and by extension its brand of Protestantism (think Ian Paisley) - then secondly to Britain as a whole.

bnt

I actually came on to mention that the BBC has a program on the economic issues surrounding independence, on BBC2 Monday 7/7. It's Robert Peston Gone North, apparently.

Gallowglass

Herb Powell wrote: »

What are the fleggers/loyalists going to do with the Scottish flags if Scotland becomes independent? It'll no longer be a sign of Britainishness!

sure that lot view Tyrone GAA flags as a sign of Britishness, clueless.

Gallowglass

bnt wrote: »

It never was a truly "British" symbol in the first place. It's worth remembering that most Settlers from the UK to Ulster were from the southwest of Scotland (roughly), and they became the So it's used to show a connection to Scotland first - and by extension its brand of Protestantism (think Ian Paisley) - then secondly to Britain as a whole.

The Ulster Scot people mostly have english surnames so I would imagine their ancestors had moved from England to lowland Scotland somewhere along the line.

There's a good article somewhere that discusses how 'Ulster Scots' is actually 'Ulster Protestant' as there are people way down in Fermanagh with English surnames who call themselves Ulster Scots yet a Catholic called McDonald from North Antrim wouldn't.

FreshTendrils

Gallowglass wrote: »

There's a good article somewhere that discusses how 'Ulster Scots' is actually 'Ulster Protestant' as there are people way down in Fermanagh with English surnames who call themselves Ulster Scots yet a Catholic called McDonald from North Antrim wouldn't.

I know a number of Catholic McDonald's in Dublin.They don't call themselves Leinster Scots and rightly fecking so.I don't see the Fitzpatrick's or Burke's in Dublin calling themselves Leinster Normans either.
Most Catholics in Ulster with a Scottish surname would be primarily of Irish Gaelic heritage and the Scottish part has most likely been here since the Gallowglass arrived 800 years ago.
The Gallowglass of course were Gaelic/Norse and far closer in heritage to the rest of Ireland than they were to the Picts in the Northeast.

300 years ago the majority of people in Ulster spoke Gaelic.Even the minority English planter traders were speaking it because it was better for business.
100 years ago 10% of Protestants were still fluent in it.
In 2014 they consider it COMPLETELY foreign.This is all part of the Ulster Protestant metamorphosis into something quite removed from their real heritage,quite bizarre given their ongoing obsession with "culture" and "preservation of heritage".
It's not just language either,they brought some key ingredients into traditional Irish music only to spurn it in the 20th century because it was too "taigy".These days they have adopted Line dancing or Scottish Highland dancing - neither of which they have any historical connection with.

Ulster Scots is a Unionist invention to serve a contemporary political position.
It's an idea that only seems to seek out and embellish any distinction between themselves and everyone else on the island.
It's sad,especially when you see the remarkable number of Murphy's,Kelly's,Brennan's,Curran's etc in the diehard flegger ranks.

kefir32

The latest polls seem to indicate the scots will reject separation. 60/40 when the don't knows are taken away. Uncertainty over currency and possible border controls to name a few stumbling blocks mean the scots are unlikely to go the whole hog.
This time next year devo max will be in full swing.

BMMachine

I'd consider myself half-scots (half the family live there, I used to live there as a kid and the Dad is scots and I spend a lot of time there ) and I'd instantly reject the idea of independence. To me, this is the SNP firing their bolt and I think its going to miss. I think the ties to Britain are great and I think theres a lot of history and tradition there as regards military, engineering and culture. I don't care about Northern Ireland or any of that, in fact, I wish we could get every Unionist, Republican, Loyalist, Ra head and put them onto an island with a tricolour and union jack in the middle and go "last man standing wins". I think its unimportant nonsense made important by scumbags and angry people, people without a depth of vision as regards to what life is.
To me, its more trouble than its worth and Im yet to be convinced by the economics of it. Scotland is a great country and always will be, with or without Britain

DEFTLEFTHAND

Herb Powell wrote: »

What are the fleggers/loyalists going to do with the Scottish flags if Scotland becomes independent? It'll no longer be a sign of Britainishness!

Gallowglass

FreshTendrils wrote: »

I know a number of Catholic McDonald's in Dublin.They don't call themselves Leinster Scots and rightly fecking so.I don't see the Fitzpatrick's or Burke's in Dublin calling themselves Leinster Normans either.
Most Catholics in Ulster with a Scottish surname would be primarily of Irish Gaelic heritage and the Scottish part has most likely been here since the Gallowglass arrived 800 years ago.
The Gallowglass of course were Gaelic/Norse and far closer in heritage to the rest of Ireland than they were to the Picts in the Northeast.

I have surnames such as MacNicholl, McLeod and McNeill in my recent descent, they are Scottish surnames but very uncommon among the unionists, the most common plantation surnames in my area are Stewart, Patterson, Simpson, Hamilton and Campbell, Campbell is a gaelic name though, it came from 'Cam' and 'Beul' meaning 'crocked mouth' and they weren't particularly loyal to England.

The MacDonalds, MacSweeneys, etc just integrated right into the Gaelic-Irish society as it wasn't so different to their own.

I don't know much about the picts but I do know that the first man of the O'Neill surname Niall Glundubh's mother was daughter of Ken MacAlpin, king of the picts.

Copy and paste this into google for the article

Am Ghobsmacht!: 'Ulster'-Scot or Simply Ulster-Prot(estant)?