Highland fling and heartfelt verses: Mae Leonard honors Robert Burns’ birthday in a spirited Scottish celebration

DCM Editorial Summary: This story has been independently rewritten and summarised for DCM readers to highlight key developments relevant to the region. Original reporting by The Irish Times, click this post to read the original article.

On a stormy January 25th in Ayrshire, Scotland, you found yourself walking through hail with Miss Taggart to attend a Burns Supper in honor of Robert Burns, the famed Scottish poet. The tradition of Burns Night remains strong, celebrating the poet’s legacy of verse and song. You were introduced to this celebration and to Scottish culture more intimately through Miss Taggart, your host during visits to the Scottish International Poetry Festival. With her warm hospitality, oatcakes, and cocoa, she shared stories of Burns’ life, including his early years as a flax heckler and his efforts to preserve Highland music by putting words to old tunes.

Miss Taggart welcomed you into her world, offering not only lodging but also tales of her upbringing in Irvine, where her parents, weavers from the Isles, established the home she later inherited. Left alone at eighteen, she turned the house into a guest house on the advice of her bank manager, finding purpose and joy in hosting visitors. You grew fond of her and kept in touch after your visits, exchanging occasional cards that kept your bond alive.

When she invited you to join her for another Burns Supper, you didn’t hesitate. Climbing the hill to the Burns Club against cold winds, you walked together into a solemn yet festive evening. The supper followed tradition – pipers, kilts, the Selkirk Grace, and the ceremonial piping in of the haggis. The host recited Burns’ “Address to a Haggis” before slicing it with a sword, and you toasted it with smoky whisky. Poems and speeches filled the night, and by the time Auld Lang Syne was sung, you and Miss Taggart were tipsy and laughing as you made your way home.

That joyful January evening turned out to be your last with Miss Taggart. When you returned in April for the poetry festival, the guest house was quiet – she had passed away not long after the Burns Supper. Your shared memories, her warmth, and your appreciation for Scotland’s national poet lived on, rooted in the legacy both she and Burns left behind.