In this year’s Andrew Gibson Memorial Lecture, Ian Crozier, CEO of the Ulster-Scots Agency, will talk about the life and legacy of the former Linen Hall Governor and Burns Collector, Andrew Gibson. Gibson was a businessman and philanthropist from Ayrshire, who came to Belfast with his family in the 1880s. Gibson is the man responsible in large part for The Linen Hall Burns archive, which is one of the largest, and most important, outside of Scotland.
The Linen Hall Library has a depth of material that sheds light on the local love of Burns and helps explain in part why the Gibson Collection came to be deposited in the city.
Len Pennie, Scots poet and activist (@missPunnyPennie on Twitter) writes about her relationship with Burns, and picks out the foreign language Burns editions from the Gibson collection.
I’m Iona, a Scots Sangster fae Huntly in Aiberdeenshire. I muived tae Glesca in 2015 an stairted studying Scots Sang unner the tutorship o Rod Paterson, ane o Scotland’s maist celebrated sangsters an exponents o Burns sangs.
The Gibson Collection, wi its squatter o Burns quairs, Burnsiana, an Burns material, is a testament tae the routh o historical links atween Ulster an Scotland. It minds us that
Mark Thompson, Ulster Scotsman, presenter and Scots Language enthusiast picked out an early edition of James Orr’s poetry from the Gibson Collection. He told Alistair Heather about the man and the work.
There are many fascinating and surprising artefacts in the vast trove of the Gibson Collection. I came across one particular piece during a recent rummage that I’d like to bring to your attention.
The Linen Hall (Belfast Library And Society For Promoting Knowledge) is registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC 104 564.
