Muirkirk - a Scots Town

On 4 June representatives of the Scots Language Centre, and Ministerial Group for Scots, were invited to Muirkirk in Ayrshire to attend an open meeting of the Muirkirk Enterprise Group (MEG). Known locally by some as ‘Mir-kirk’, this small Ayrshire commuity has been exploring its Scots language heritage in recent years, including a festival devoted to two local poets, John Lapraik and Tibbie Pagan. Robert Burns, who admired some of Lapraik’s poems, visited Lapraik in Muirkirk, while Isobel (Tibbie) Pagan (1741-1821) is noteworthy for her poems and songs about life in 18^th and early 19^th century Ayrshire. She was the composer of the well known song ‘Caw the yowes tae the knowes’. MEG is currenly exploring ways in which the local festival might be expanded into a general celebration of the Scots language, during which Muirkirk might be promoted as a Scots-speaking town. After an open debate with members of the community, the representatives of the SLC and Ministerial Group were also taken on an audio tour of the village which included the local church and burial places of Lapraik and Pagan.