Declaration of Independence displayed in Belfast for first time as Ulster-Scots influence celebrated

It's one of the most important documents in history... and it was signed on July 4 - 247 years ago. The US declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776 and it's on display in Belfast for the very first time. The irreplaceable artefact has been loaned from The National Archives to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland as part of a three-month exhibition organised by the Ulster-Scots Agency.

Ian Crozier, Chief Executive of the Ulster Scots Agency, said: "The document that we see here is called the Dunlap Broadside; that's the very first Declaration of Independence that was produced in the United States, one that was actually printed on the evening of the 4th of July 1776. "That document has a really, really important connection back to Ulster. There are only three names on that document and two of them are of Ulster Scots who were actually born here. "What we have done here at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, in a project between PRONI and the Ulster Scots Agency, is create and exhibition which tells you not just about the declaration in this particular document but also about the contribution of the Ulster-Scots community in America to all of the ideas and the whole movement behind American independence that eventually culminated on the 4th of July, 1776." The exhibition was officially opened by US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs, Joe Kennedy III, on his first official visit for events to mark 25 years since the Belfast Agreement. It's in the Public Record Office in Belfast until August and everyone is welcome to the free exhibition.

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