Celebration of Robert Burns at The Braid

Mayor of Mid & East Antrim Council, UUP Cllr Lindsay Millar, pictured at the 'Hand To The Plough' exhibition along with from left, Tom Beckett (Vice-President Belfast Burns Association), William McPherson (Past President of BBA),Dr Frank Ferguson (Ulster University), Samantha McCombe (Linen Hall Librarian) and Denis Currie, President of BBA.

It’s part of marking 2018 as the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Lindsay Millar said: “The connection between Belfast and Burns is well known and has been a central focus of this story. This exhibit outlines the clear affinity this area also has with the poet, particularly Antrim, Ballymena, Ballyclare, Doagh, Larne and Ballycarry. Shaped by the migration of lowland Scots into Ulster during the plantation period, local rural communities shared deep cultural, religious and linguistic links with Scotland. This was voiced by a group of distinctive rural poets known collectively as the Rhyming Weavers, who are a central focus of ‘Hand to the Plough’. Culturally Ulster Scots is a living thing within our local communities and Council would like to thank local groups and the Belfast Burns Association who have contributed to this exhibition. Special thanks also goes to our exhibition partners at Ulster University and the Linen Hall Library.”

The free exhibition has been developed through the Mid-Antrim Heritage Partnership between Mid and East Antrim and Antrim and Newtownabbey Councils. It will be at The Braid until August 25 and will then go on tour to museums at Mossley Mill, Carrickfergus and Larne.