Join Us for our annual Burns Night Supper at The Halfway House, Burnfoot, County Donegal, on Friday 23 January, 2015. The night includes a 2 course traditional supper with entertainment and dancing. Tickets can be reserved by emailing: tickets@monreagh.net.
Download Burns Night Poster
The Burns Supper is an institution of Scottish life: a night to celebrate the life and works of the national Bard.
Chairman’s welcome
The Chair (host/organiser) warmly welcomes and introduces the assembled guests and the evening’s entertainment.
The Selkirk Grace
A short but important prayer read to usher in the meal, The Selkirk Grace is also known as Burns’s Grace at Kirkcudbright. Although the text is often printed in English, it is usually recited in Scots.
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.
Piping in the haggis
Guests should normally stand to welcome the dinner’s star attraction, which should be delivered on a silver platter by a procession comprising the chef, the piper and the person who will address the Haggis. A whisky-bearer should also arrive to ensure the toasts are well lubricated.
During the procession, guests clap in time to the music until the Haggis reaches its destination at the table. The music stops and everyone is seated in anticipation of the address To a Haggis.
Address to the haggis
The honoured reader now seizes their moment of glory by offering a fluent and entertaining rendition of To a Haggis. The reader should have his knife poised at the ready. On cue (His knife see Rustic-labour dight), he cuts the casing along its length, making sure to spill out some of the tasty gore within (trenching its gushing entrails).
Toast to the haggis
Prompted by the speaker, the audience now joins in the toast to the haggis. Raise a glass and shout:The haggis! Then it’s time to serve the main course with its traditional companions, neeps and tatties. In larger events, the piper leads a procession carrying the opened haggis out to the kitchen for serving; audience members should clap as the procession departs.
