Burns club speaks out over date row

A LOCAL Burns Club said to be the oldest surviving of its kind in the world is speaking up after its foundation date was disputed.

Greenock Burns Club, commonly referred to as ‘The Mother Club’, is said to have been founded in 1801, however, this date has been questioned in a newly-published paper by academic Clark McGinn, who says ‘the true foundation date’ of the institution is 1804.

The researcher argues it was only that year that Greenock Burns Club became an independent club, splitting away from the Greenock Ayrshire Society through which it had held Burns suppers beforehand.

Alan Beck, ex-president of the Greenock Burns Club and current president of the World Burns Federation, says there is a disagreement ‘about a technicality’.

He said: “The club wouldn’t really argue with the majority of what Clark says.

“The Greenock Ayrshire Society was one where all the Ayrshire people in Greenock were helped, it was almost like a charitable society.

“Clark is basically saying ‘well, you can’t say that those early years are the Greenock Burns Club because it’s not; it is the Greenock Ayrshire society.’

“What we are saying is that it was guys from within the Greenock Ayrshire Society who had formed a wee Burns club in it.

“They were members of the Greenock Ayrshire Society, and they were interested in Robert Burns and they started having Burns suppers and forming a club.

“It’s the same people. “Essentially, for us, the Greenock Ayrshire Society was a mother club of the mother club.”

Despite the disagreement, Alan - who is currently undertaking doctoral research at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Robert Burns Studies - says that there are no hard feelings between the club and Clark McGinn.

He added: “Clark’s article is an excellent one.

“He’s done a lot of research and we disagree with one small part of his work and that’s it.

“We’d definitely be more than happy to have Clark back at the club.”

The lifelong Burns fan hopes the dispute could have a positive spin-off of generating interest in the club.

Alan said: “Greenock is very lucky and fortunate in the Burns world to have such an old and well respected club.

“I’ve travelled all over the world singing and speaking at Burns events - I’m just back from Canada 10 days ago.

“Everybody in the Burns world calls Greenock ‘the mother club.’

“It is something we in the club are very proud of.

“We’re quite happy to speak to anybody who is interested in the history of the club and the Burns movement.”