Burns Night

The story of Robert Burns and Ulster is one of an auld acquaintance that should never be forgotten.  

It is just one of our many historic connections with Scotland, expressing our shared heritage of the Scots language and literature on both sides of the narrow North Channel.  

Burns has a unique relationship with Belfast, the Ulster-Scots speaking town that was the first place outside Scotland to publish his work. His friends and family made their homes here and over 200 years later, his life and legacy continues to be celebrated for auld lang syne.  

Introducing Belfast’s Bonnie Burns 

Belfast is a city with many cultural influences, and the Ulster-Scots dimension is a proud part of that. Our history, our oldest buildings, many of our placenames, and our daily speech all still display an undeniably Scottish skirl and birl. So, it’s no surprise that Robert Burns’ poetry has been enjoyed here for centuries, and his song collections include one that he acquired from Belfast, entitled ‘To A Rose Bud’. 

Burns: Printed in Belfast – 1787 

In 1787, Burns’ poems were first pirated and printed in Belfast  

Burns’ Edinburgh edition was published in early 1787 and proved to be very popular. As demand for his poems increased, the popularity caught the attention of Belfast printer James Magee. On 24 September 1787, he placed an advert in the Belfast News Letter, announcing that he had printed his own (unauthorised) edition.  

A copy of this edition is, today, part of the Gibson Collection in the Linen Hall Library, Belfast. Many other editions would be printed in Belfast and Ulster towns in the centuries that followed.  

Burns: Celebrated in Belfast – 1844  

The Burns Family in Belfast 

Around 1844, Robert Burns’ granddaughter, Eliza Burns, settled in Belfast with her young daughter, Martha, following the death of her husband. The two moved to Brougham Street, located off York Street, in the city.  

That year, Eliza’s father – Robert Burns Jr – came to visit them in Belfast. There had been a major Burns commemoration in Ayr in August and the people of Belfast took the opportunity to hold their own celebration later that month.  

Burns: Centenary in Belfast – 1859  

Belfast Burns Centenary 

1859 was the centenary of the birth of Robert Burns and commemorative events were held all over the world. The Northern Whig newspaper ran a competition for poems to celebrate the centenary and two major events were held at Belfast Music Hall and the Corn Exchange.  

A grand banquet was held at Belfast Music Hall and guests of honour included Eliza and Martha. Some 250 gentlemen and 80 ladies packed the Music Hall – which stood on the corner of May Street and Upper Arthur Street – to commemorate Burns in style and grandeur.  

The event at Corn Exchange saw 400 people “from the working classes” attend a soiree to celebrate Scotland’s Bard.  

Burns: Club Founded in Belfast – 1872  

Belfast Burns Club Founded  

When Robert Burns Jr was in Belfast in 1844 asked to be made an Honorary Member of Belfast Burns Club. In 1872, a Burns Club was formally instituted in the city and in 1886 was accepted into membership of the newly established Burns World Federation, becoming Burns Club No 15 in the world.  

Being the first Burns Club formed in Ulster, it survives to this day as the Belfast Burns Association.  

Burns: The 21st Century 

Rediscovery and Revival  

Ulster-Scots was recognised as a vital part of our shared cultural wealth in the Belfast Agreement of 1998 and the subsequent establishment of the Ulster-Scots Agency has been the catalyst for a renewed interest in the connection of Robert Burns to Ulster.  

Support for academic research has led to the publication of seminal works exploring the legacy of Burns within a wider Ulster-Scots literary context.  

Investment in the Linen Hall Library has supported the extensive restoration and conservation of the Gibson Collection and is now the foundation of the Library’s museum status.  

High-profile Burns Concerts, organised by the Ulster-Scots Agency, have seen some of Scotland’s foremost entertainers – including Eddi Reader, Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain – performing in Belfast and sparking cultural collaborations on both sides of the water.  

TV programmes supported by the Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund, initially based around the Burns Concerts, have explored Ulster’s passion for Burns and brough it to new audiences in both Ulster and Scotland.  

Popular publications and tourisn exhibitions have been created to raise awareness of the Ulster dimension to the story of Burns.  

In the run up to Burns Night, the lamp posts of Belfast’s principal thoroughfares are adorned with banners proclaiming the city’s connections to Scotland’s national bard.  

The Agency has a publication – Belfast's Bonnie Burns – which looks deeper into these connections and the poet’s history to the city. 

Free copies are available from the Discover Ulster-Scots Centre. Further details on the Centre can be found here.